GAMEDAY: Maple Leafs, Capitals meet in clash of two of NHL's top clubs

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Washington Capitals (17-6-2) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (16-7-2)

When: Friday, 7 p.m., Scotiabank Arena

TV: TSN4 Radio: The Fan 590

Odds: Capitals +118, Maple Leafs -147

The buzz

It’s a matchup of the NHL’s highest scoring team and one of the stingiest: The Capitals average an NHL-best 4.08 goals a game and the Maple Leafs give up an average of 2.52 goals, the second-fewest in the league … Since losing in overtime to the Leafs on Nov. 13 in Washington on a goal by John Tavares, the Capitals are 7-2-1 in 10 games … If you had tickets for tonight and were hoping to see Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin, you should get another chance in the coming weeks. He’s nursing a broken leg now, but stands a shot of being in the lineup on Dec. 28, when the Caps are back in Toronto. With 868 goals, Ovechkin is 27 shy of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL career record of 894 … Washington has won seven consecutive road games … The Capitals and Seattle Kraken are the only two NHL teams that didn’t have a player named to any of the 4 Nations Face-Off rosters. “Disappointing to see that,” Caps coach Spencer Carbery said on Thursday. “I thought we had several players who had strong cases to be part of the tournament and represent their country. We’re sitting at the top of the Eastern Conference standings and to not have one guy there is a little odd to me.” One such player is Mississauga native Dylan Strome, who prior to games on Thursday was 10th in NHL scoring with 34 points in 25 games … Since the Leafs were shut out on Nov. 12 by Ottawa, Mitch Marner has 16 points, tying him with Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the most in the NHL in that span.

The news

After not giving a clear answer on Thursday as to whether he would keep Auston Matthews and Marner together, this was Leafs coach Craig Berube on Friday after the Leafs skate: “The way we ended up last game, I think we start that way tonight. You change things up in games sometimes and it works, and you stick with it for a bit and see how it goes.” So, yes, the two will be on the same line to start against the Capitals, 48 hours after their reunion in the second period against Nashville helped lead to a victory … Anthony Stolarz is the projected starter in goal for the Leafs. His only previous career start against the Caps came last season with the Florida Panthers. Stolarz made 22 saves in a 3-2 Panthers win … Fraser Minten moves back to centre on the third line after Berube put him on the wing with Tavares and William Nylander against the Predators. “I do like him in the middle of the ice and I feel like having him in that spot (between Nick Robertson and Steven Lorentz), he’s a solid defender down low,” Berube said. “It makes that line stronger in my opinion.”

The quote

“They’re sick. They’ve been been doing it for so long now, and they find each other, right? They love playing with each other. You got the elite playmaker and the elite goalscorer, it’s pretty textbook.”

— Fraser Minten on the chemistry between Matthews and Marner

The projected Leafs lineup

Forwards

Matthew Knies-Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner

Pontus Holmberg-John Tavares-William Nylander

Nick Robertson-Fraser Minten-Steven Lorentz

Nikita Grebenkin-Connor Dewar-Ryan Reaves

Defence

Oliver Ekman-Larsson—Chris Tanev

Morgan Rielly-Philippe Myers

Simon Benoit-Conor Timmins

Goal

Anthony Stolarz

Joseph Woll

The injuries

WASH: LW Alex Ovechkin (leg), F T.J. Oshie (back), F Sonny Milano (upper body).

TOR: F Max Pacioretty (lower body), F Calle Jarnkrok (lower body), D Dakota Mermis (jaw), D Jani Hakanpaa (knee), C David Kampf (lower body), LW Bobby McMann (lower body), C Max Domi (lower body), D Jake McCabe (head).

The prediction

As good as the Caps have been on the road, the Leafs have been better at home. Toronto adds to its NHL-best 12 home wins with a 4-2 victory.

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @koshtorontosun