The Toronto Maple Leafs will host the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday evening.
The Maple Leafs are off to a hot start with six wins and just one loss in their first seven games of the season. However, coach Randy Carlyle is unhappy with the team's performance thus far and was especially critical of a win against the Wild earlier this week; in that match, the team was outshot 37-14. The Leafs have been heavily criticized in the media for being a poor possession team and many feel that the club could eventually implode due to this statistic. Carlyle may not believe that advanced statistics completely, but he is clearly thinks that his team has some issues to address.
"We understand that 6-1 is just a stat," Carlyle said Wednesday according to NHL.com. "We need to play better."
Meanwhile the Hurricanes are off to a less impressive record of two wins, two losses, and two overtime defeats in seven games. The team has scored 15 times in that span but has conceded 21 goals in the same span.
The Hurricanes are coming off a 3-2 shootout defeat against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks. Carolina came back from a 2-0 deficit in that game.
Prediction: Toronto will not continue winning forever and is due for a big loss after its performance against Minnesota. Expect Carolina to win 4-1.
Start Time: The puck drops at 7 p.m. EST at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
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