Toronto @ Dallas preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 1, 2018 ) Dallas 2, Toronto 1

The Dallas Stars pride themselves on their tenacious defense while the Toronto Maple Leafs haven't been shy about pumping in goals this season. The Stars will put their NHL-best 2.45 goals-against average per game on the line Wednesday when they host the Maple Leafs, who boast a league-high 3.76 goals per contest on the road this season.

"I think that's pretty much our game. We want to play good defense and we are committed to keeping the puck out of our net, and that was a good example of it (Monday)," Dallas captain Jamie Benn said. Benn, however, also provided a punch at the other end of the ice Monday, as he capped a two-goal performance by scoring in overtime of a 3-2 victory versus Tampa Bay. While the Stars have won eight of their last 11 games, the Maple Leafs answered a 1-3-2 stretch with a resounding 5-2 win over Nashville on Monday. William Nylander remained hot as he scored in his fourth consecutive contest to push his point streak to five games, during which he also has three assists.

TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: Sportsnet, TVAS, FS Southwest

ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (26-17-7): Auston Matthews has turned it up a notch since midway into last month, as the 22-year-old has elevated his club-best totals in goals (35) and points (58) with 16 and 24, respectively, since Dec. 17. Matthews tallied twice in Toronto's 7-4 victory over Dallas on Oct. 9, 2018, while Mitch Marner collected a goal and three assists in that contest. The 22-year-old Marner, who leads the team with 35 assists, has set up 21 goals to highlight his 30-point performance over his last 22 games.

ABOUT THE STARS (28-17-4): Dallas interim coach Rick Bowness knows his offense is a work in progress, but he saw his team generate scoring chances on Monday due to strong defensive play. "We want to create offense any way we can get it," Bowness said after practice Tuesday. "We did a good job on our breakouts (Monday) night. That gave us the opportunities on the rush. If we forecheck like we can and we did (Monday) night, we're going to create opportunities from that as well." Bowness labeled leading goal scorer Roope Hintz (upper body) and fellow forward Andrew Cogliano (lower body) as day-to-day, but he planned to reassess the situation in the morning.

OVERTIME

1. Toronto C Jason Spezza scored a goal on Monday to gain some momentum heading into an encounter versus Dallas, with which he spent the past five seasons.

2. Dallas C Tyler Seguin, who leads the team in assists (26) and points (37), had five and six, respectively, in two meetings with the Maple Leafs last season.

3. Toronto RW Kasperi Kapanen wore a regular jersey in practice on Tuesday, one day after sustaining an arm injury versus Nashville.

PREDICTION: Maple Leafs 4, Stars 2