Pair of all-Canadian matchups highlight hockey action on TSN
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Thursday night will be your home for regional hockey action as the Toronto Maple Leafs are in Calgary to battle the Flames while the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators clash in the nation's capital.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Calgary Flames
Spread: TOR -1.5 (+188) / CAL +1.5 (-229)
Moneyline: TOR -126 / CAL +105
Over/Under: 6.5 (O -120 / U +102)
The Maple Leafs' up-and-down season continues in Calgary on Thursday night as they look to snap a four-game winless streak.
Toronto, losers of three straight games in regulation, have blown leads in each of their past four games, including a 4-2 defeat to Connor McDavid and the red-hot Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.
Despite the blown leads, Maple Leafs star forward Mitch Marner seems confident they'll be able to right the ship.
"We know we're doing the right things," Marner said after Tuesday's defeat. "We're a great hockey team and we got to ignore what everyone else says. We know we're a great hockey team. We show it every night. These last four games where we've had leads, we've played some awesome hockey, some great hockey."
Head coach Sheldon Keefe wasn't as positive when he spoke to reporters during Wednesday's off-day in Calgary.
"Who are we going to rely on in those moments?" Keefe remarked. "Who's going to go out and get the job done? Despite the fact we're through the halfway point of the season here now, 42 games in, I still have a lot of questions, quite honestly, about who is going to go out and we can say, for certain, he's going to get the job done for us."
The poor results over the past week have left the Leafs outside of an Atlantic Division playoff spot and hanging onto a wild-card entry with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals and New York Islanders just two points behind.
Martin Jones will get the start between the pipes. The 34-year-old has been Toronto's No. 1 goalie as of late, posting an 8-5-1 record with a 2.36 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage over 15 games this season.
This will be Toronto's second game of a four-game road trip that also includes stops against league front runners Vancouver Canucks on Saturday and the Seattle Kraken on Sunday.
The Calgary Flames, meanwhile, have won their last four contests, including a 3-2 overtime win over the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday.
Right winger Blake Coleman, who leads the Flames this season with 20 goals and 18 assists, has scored at least one goal in each of Calgary's past four games.
The mini winning streak has the Flames just two points behind the Nashville Predators for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
One streak will continue and will streak will end in Calgary on Wednesday.
Montreal Canadiens at Ottawa Senators
Spread: MTL +1.5 (-154/ OTT -1.5 (+128)
Moneyline: MTL +146 / OTT -178
Over/Under: 6.5 (O -128 / U +104)
For the first time this season, the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators will go head-to-head.
The struggling Sens, who came into this season with playoff aspirations, find themselves in last place in the Eastern Conference with just 30 points through 39 games.
The Habs own 45 points through 44 games and are four points outside of a wild-card spot with five teams still to jump.
Left winger Juraj Slafkovsky, the 19-year-old Slovak who was selected first overall by the Canadiens in 2022, has scored in consecutive wins over the Colorado Avalanche and New Jersey Devils.
Ottawa has just won four of 13 games since Jacques Martin replaced DJ Smith as head coach in mid-December.