Toronto @ Arizona preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 20, 2019 ) Arizona 4, Toronto 2

Auston Matthews hopes to have the opportunity to sit at his family's dinner table before feasting on the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday when the Toronto Maple Leafs continue their six-game road trip at Gila River Arena. Matthews, who has called Arizona home since he was 2 months old, scored in last year's homecoming to power the Maple Leafs to a 7-4 win on Dec. 28, 2017.

Matthews recorded his second straight three-point performance in Thursday's 6-3 win versus Vegas, with his two tallies helping the 21-year-old become the fourth-fastest player to reach the 100-goal mark in franchise history at 187 games. "It’s special. I've been fortunate to play with a lot of really good players on any given night," Matthews told the Toronto Sun following his eighth multi-goal and 17th multi-point performance of the season. The Maple Leafs have won six of their last seven heading into the fifth stop of their road trip against an Arizona club that fell for the sixth time in eight outings with Thursday's 4-0 setback versus visiting St. Louis. "Obviously it's not good enough," Coyotes captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson said of the team's 10-14-3 mark at home. "... It's frustrating, and especially around this time of year. Every game is so important right now and especially our homestands. It's huge for us, so we've got to find a way to win the home games."

TV: 7 p.m. ET, CBC, Sportsnet Ontario (Toronto), FS Arizona

ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (36-18-3): Andreas Johnsson scored against the Golden Knights to record his ninth point (five goals, four assists) in his last six games before exiting the contest after being the recipient of a knee-on-knee hit from Brayden McNabb. The injury prevented the 24-year-old Johnsson from practicing the following day and led to coach Mike Babcock ruling him out versus the Coyotes. Tyler Ennis will draw back in the lineup for the first time since breaking his ankle on Dec. 22.

ABOUT THE COYOTES (25-27-5): Clayton Keller scored in the second period of Arizona's 4-2 win in Toronto on Jan. 20, marking his 11th goal of the season and his last to date. The 20-year-old has collected four of his club-best 27 assists in his last nine games to boost his team-leading point total to 38. Ekman-Larsson has just one point in eight games since setting up Keller's tally versus the Maple Leafs while Lawson Crouse has two assists in nine contests since scoring and setting up a goal against Toronto.

OVERTIME

1. Arizona C Alex Galchenyuk has scored three of his team-leading 12 goals in the last three contests.

2. Maple Leafs C John Tavares has nine points (three goals, six assists) over his last six games overall and 35 (19 goals, 16 assists) in 28 road contests.

3. The Coyotes have scored a league-low 70 goals at home this season.

PREDICTION: Maple Leafs 4, Coyotes 2