TORONTO AT COLORADO, 7 p.m. Thursday, ALT, 950 AM
Spotlight on Auston Matthews: Toronto’s 19-year-old rookie center considered playing for the University of Denver last season. Matthews, the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft, is second behind Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine in rookie goals (18 to 15) and rookie points (29 to 24). Matthews was born and raised in Scottsdale, Ariz., and will make his NHL debut in his home state Friday when the Maple Leafs visit the Coyotes. If he had chosen the NCAA route over major-junior or European professional leagues the Pioneers believed he would have went to Denver. As it was, he played last season with former Avalanche coach Marc Crawford for Zurich SC in Switzerland, leading the pro team with 24 goals.
NOTEBOOK
Maple Leafs: They are beginning a four-game stretch outside Toronto but will return home for Christmas after playing two games, the latter on Friday at Arizona. They visit the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. … Centers Tyler Bozak and Ben Smith are out with injuries. Bozak is the former University of Denver standout and Smith began the season with the Avalanche until the Maple Leafs picked him up on waivers. … The Leafs recalled goaltender Antoine Bibeau from the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies on Tuesday, trading places with Jhonas Enroth. In his NHL debut, Bibeau took the 3-1 loss to the Avalanche on Dec. 11 in Toronto. Bibeau will start against the Avs or Friday against the Coyotes. … Toronto is 3-6-5 on the road.
Avalanche: Wednesday was an off day after the team returned from Tuesday night’s 2-0 loss at Minnesota. The Avs went 0-2 on the trip and will now try to snap a seven-game winless (0-6-1) skid at home. They are on a four-game losing streak. … Colorado has an NHL-low 23 points and their goals-per-game (2.10) and goals-against (3.16) averages are worst in the league. The Avs’ power play and penalty killing are both ranked 22nd in the 30-team NHL.
