Toronto @ Arizona preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 16, 2019 ) Toronto 0, Arizona 2

The Toronto Maple Leafs used the off day to fire veteran coach Mike Babcock after the team's losing streak stretched to six contests, and Sheldon Keefe will take his place behind the bench when they continue a six-game road trip Thursday against the surging Arizona Coyotes. The Maple Leafs lost in a shootout to start the streak and gave up 24 goals in the last five games after losing 4-2 at Vegas on Tuesday, spelling the end of Babcock's tenure and moving Keefe from the AHL to the NHL.

Keefe, who played 125 NHL games with Tampa Bay, took three teams to the conference finals and winning a Calder Cup championship (2018) in four-plus seasons coaching the Toronto Marlies - the Leafs' AHL affiliate - and gets his first chance to coach in the NHL. The Maple Leafs will have to find their top form to snap a two-game losing streak against the Coyotes, who are three points out of first place in the Pacific Division after winning four of their last five contests. Arizona has opened a three-game homestand with consecutive shutouts from different goaltenders - Darcy Kuemper and Antti Raanta - and leads the league in goals-against per contest (2.23). “We really want to be a team that, when people come in here, they know that if they’re going to score they’re going to have to really work and go to the (tough) areas,” Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet told reporters. “I think we’ve really defended well.”

TV: 9 p.m. ET, Sportsnet Ontario (Toronto), FS Arizona

ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (9-10-4): Center Auston Matthews was kept off the scoresheet the last two games and leads the team with 27 points while defenseman Morgan Rielly recorded one of his 17 points in the past six contests. Veteran forward Jason Spezza has improved his production with two goals to go along with an assist in the last two games and boasts five points in five contests this month. Trade rumors are circulating around defenseman Tyson Barrie, an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, who is a minus-6 over the past three games and has yet to score a goal after registering 14 each of the past two seasons with Colorado.

ABOUT THE COYOTES (13-7-2): Kuemper (9-5-0, 1.85 goals-against average, .937 save percentage) stopped 70 of 72 shots in his last two starts while Raanta (4-2-2, 2.69, .922) stopped all 31 shots in the 3-0 victory over Los Angeles on Monday. “Obviously what (Kuemper) has done over the last year, he’s a top goalie, but for (Raanta) to come back from injury and to training camp in the shape he’s in, we’ve got a one-two punch that’s pretty special,” Tocchet told reporters. Nick Schmaltz had two assists Monday to lead the team with 18 points and fellow forward Conor Garland has three of his team-leading 10 goals in the past four contests.

OVERTIME

1. The Coyotes went 2-for-4 on the power play Monday after converting once in 26 tries over the previous eight games.

2. Toronto C John Tavares, who was blanked in the last two games, is two assists shy of 400 for his career.

3. Arizona C Derek Stepan has scored in back-to-back games and needs two assists to reach 300 for his career.

PREDICTION: Maple Leafs 4, Coyotes 2