Maple Leafs at Hurricanes preview

MAPLE LEAFS (15-6-0) at HURRICANES (9-8-3)
7 p.m. ET; SN, FS-CR, NHL.TV

Andersen is 6-0-0 with a 1.33 goals-against average, .963 save percentage and one shutout in his past six starts for the Maple Leafs, who seek their fifth consecutive victory and eighth win in nine games (7-1-0).
Center Victor Rask will make his season debut for the Hurricanes after missing 20 games with a hand injury. Rask had 31 points (14 goals, 17 assists) in 71 games last season.
Goalie Curtis McElhinney will start for Carolina against his former team. McElhinney, claimed off waivers from Toronto on Oct. 2, is 4-2-0 with a 2.51 GAA and .903 save percentage in six starts this season for the Hurricanes, 3-1-1 in their past five games after a five-game losing streak (0-4-1).

Players to watch

Maple Leafs center John Tavares has 12 points (six goals, six assists) in his past nine games.
Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho has six points (two goals, four assists) in his past five games.

They said it

"It's going to be special. I haven't been here in close to 16 years. It's pretty weird, but at the same time, it's nostalgic. I was out there [on the ice] a couple times. I was lucky enough to do that with my dad. It's pretty funny to be skating here, now 22 years old and playing with the Leafs. It's pretty cool." -- Maple Leafs forward Kasperi Kapanen, whose father, Sami, played for the Hurricanes until Kasperi was 7 years old
"They've got some high-end players that we've got to find a way to shut down. And we've got to find ways to get pucks by their goalie, which is obviously going to be a challenge too. Their record is what it is because they do it right." -- Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Zach Hyman -- John Tavares -- Mitchell Marner
Patrick Marleau -- Nazem Kadri -- Kasperi Kapanen
Andreas Johnsson -- Par Lindholm -- Connor Brown
Tyler Ennis -- Frederik Gauthier -- Josh Leivo
Morgan Rielly -- Ron Hainsey
Jake Gardiner -- Nikita Zaitsev
Travis Dermott -- Igor Ozhiganov
Frederik Andersen
Garret Sparks
Scratched:Martin Marincin, Justin Holl
Injured: Auston Matthews (left shoulder)

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Hurricanes projected lineup

Micheal Ferland -- Sebastian Aho -- Teuvo Teravainen
Brock McGinn -- Jordan Staal -- Justin Williams
Jordan Martinook -- Lucas Wallmark -- Andrei Svechnikov
Warren Foegele -- Victor Rask -- Phillip Di Giuseppe
Jaccob Slavin -- Dougie Hamilton
Calvin de Haan -- Justin Faulk
Haydn Fleury -- Trevor van Riemsdyk
Curtis McElhinney
Scott Darling
Scratched: None
Injured: Petr Mrazek (lower body), Brett Pesce (knee)

Status report

Matthews participated in the morning skate for Toronto. … Pesce skated with Carolina on Tuesday. … Forward Clark Bishop was returned to Charlotte of the American Hockey League.

Stat pack

Rielly has eight points (three goals, five assists) in a six-game point streak. … Tavares has 41 points (22 goals, 19 assists) in 34 games against the Hurricanes. … Toronto is the least-penalized team in the NHL (6:08 per game); Carolina is second (7:20).