Arizona @ Toronto preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 28, 2017 ) Toronto 7, Arizona 4

The Toronto Maple Leafs showed what they are capable of with an impressive win at league-best Tampa Bay on Thursday, only to sputter 24 hours later with a road loss to reeling Florida. Such inconsistency has become the norm for the Maple Leafs, who enter Sunday's matchup against the visiting Arizona Coyotes with only three wins in their last nine games.

Coach Mike Babcock acknowledged that Toronto's level of play has dipped since Christmas, citing the eight-game absence of No. 1 goaltender Frederik Andersen as one of the reasons. "There's always highs and lows," Babcock told reporters. "We've been a pretty good team. We've just got to keep getting better." Arizona has been better of late, going 4-1-1 in its last six games following a 3-2 overtime loss to Pittsburgh on Friday. The Coyotes are kicking off a six-game road trip, but they have won six of their last eight in the all-time series against Toronto - including their last four on the road.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NHL Network, FS Arizona Plus, Sportsnet (Toronto)

ABOUT THE COYOTES (21-22-4): Leading scorer Clayton Keller, who was selected for the All-Star Game, had scored just one goal in 21 games before converting on the power play against Pittsburgh to reach 100 career points. Keller's 10th tally of the season allowed him to become the fastest player in franchise history to reach 100 points, hitting the mark in 132 games - 22 fewer than previous record holder Max Domi. "It's a cool accomplishment, but I'm more focused on our team," Keller, who recorded 23 goals in 82 contests as a rookie last season, told reporters. "We're playing good hockey right now."

ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (29-16-2): Young star Auston Matthews got off to a blazing start this season by scoring 10 times in the first six games, but he is stuck in one of the worst droughts of his brief career with one goal in his last 12 contests. "Sooner or later, I'm too good of a player for these chances to continue to come along and not capitalize on them," Matthews told reporters after posting a season-worst minus-3 rating at Florida. "So for me, it's obviously frustrating, but just got to keep it going and just keep working harder." William Nylander also is laboring with one goal and zero assists in his last 16 games.

OVERTIME

1. Andersen is 7-1-4 with a 1.77 goals-against average versus Arizona.

2. Coyotes G Darcy Kuemper, who is on a five-game point streak (4-0-1), has yielded four goals in three career appearances versus Toronto.

3. Toronto RW Mitch Marner had his four-game goal-scoring streak halted in Friday's loss.

PREDICTION: Maple Leafs 4, Coyotes 2