Squaring off with nearly identical records entering Wednesday’s contest, the Toronto Maple Leafs were presented with a key opportunity to get out of a rut against a quality Minnesota Wild team, with a four-game road trip on the horizon before the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

John Hynes knows that William Nylander can lead the Maple Leafs out of the little hole they’ve dug for themselves. The Leafs have scored just two goals in losing their past two games, and neither came off the stick of Nylander after the star winger had four goals in the previous three games, all Toronto victories.

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Core Four players, John Tavares, Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner, are not just elite scorers. Together they are four players who, game after game, show a high hockey IQ.

Here’s a look at the injury report for the Toronto Maple Leafs (30-18-2), which currently has seven players listed, as the Maple Leafs prepare for their matchup with the Minnesota Wild (29-17-4) at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday,

You can look to John Tavares and Matthew Knies’ imminent returns and hope they can spark the lineup, but this is still a team with Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner. Offence should not be this difficult and they have the raw talent to at least make games interesting. Tonight was far from it.

William Nylander scored his second goal of the game at 1:10 of overtime and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the visiting New Jersey Devils 4-3 on Thursday night.

Toronto Maple Leafs stars Anthony Stolarz and John Tavares are struggling with injuries. NHL insider Darren Dreger provided updates on their return timelines during Friday’s First Up show.

It was only three games, this most recent losing skid for the Maple Leafs. And William Nylander made certain the slump wouldn't make it to four.

Matthews and Nylander both scored two goals as Toronto battled back from 2-1 and 3-2 deficits in the third period to beat New Jersey 4-3.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without veteran center John Tavares for the foreseeable future after he suffered an injury during a power-play drill at practice on Wednesday. The team announced that Tavares had been placed on injured reserve as a result of the injury, describing it as being an issue with his lower body.

As Bissonnette explained on Tuesday, the Maple Leafs should pursue the signing of new Carolina Hurricanes forward Mikko Rantanen if he gets to free agency and Toronto lets Mitch Marner walk.

The Maple Leafs defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-3 in overtime on Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena. The team is off on Friday as they travel to Montreal.