Autumn is Here and it’s Time for Some Leafs to Fall

Both Columbus and the Toronto Maple Leafs are on a hot streak, and tonight they will battle it out for the first time.

Columbus is 12-6-2 while Toronto is 14-6-0. The Leafs currently hold third place in the league, but Columbus is right behind them at fourth. The CBJ are first in their division however, while the Leafs are second. It’s a battle for the top in tonight’s matchup.

The Blue Jackets have won three straight games including obliterating the Florida Panthers on Thursday in which they won 7-3. Their most recent victory was against Carolina where the boys in blue won 4-1.

"That's three in a row on the road where we've given up one goal," Blue Jackets assistant coach Brad Shaw said. "I really like, starting in the Washington game and then to Dallas and then to (Carolina), that we've had a really good checking mindset. I think it's propelled us in games. It's given us a chance.

"I think we've frustrated the home team in those situations. It's allowed us to play with the puck a little more and play a little bit more of the dangerous ice because we've checked so well as a team.”

Conversely, Toronto is 9-1-0 on the road despite being down their star player, Auston Matthews. Matthews sustained a shoulder injury after a particularly brutal hit on October 27 from Winnipeg Jets’ Jacob Trouba. He’s started practicing with the team again, but is barred from contact. Matthews is currently in his third week of a projected week recovery.

They recently had a California road trip where they swept all three teams, the first time since 1995-1996 where they swept. In 20 games, they’ve won 14 which is also the second-most in team history (Dave McCarthy).

In other news, Cam Atkinson scored the first hat trick of the season against the Carolina Hurricanes. The veteran leads the team in goals having 12 so far this season. He was also named the first star of the week by the NHL.

Additionally, Nick Foligno will make his way back into the lineup after he missed the game on Saturday. He had a family matter to tend to and was excused for the night. His place in the lineup is unknown however.

CBJ Projected Lineup

Artemi Panarin -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Cam Atkinson

Oliver Bjorkstrand -- Boone Jenner -- Josh Anderson

Brandon Dubinsky -- Alexander Wennberg -- Anthony Duclair

Markus Hannikainen -- Riley Nash -- Lukas Sedlak

Ryan Murray -- Seth Jones

Markus Nutivaara -- David Savard

Zach Werenski -- Scott Harrington

Sergei Bobrovsky

Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lineup

Zach Hyman -- John Tavares -- Mitchell Marner

Patrick Marleau -- Nazem Kadri -- Kasperi Kapanen

Andreas Johnsson -- Par Lindholm -- Connor Brown

Tyler Ennis -- Frederik Gauthier -- Josh Leivo

Morgan Rielly -- Ron Hainsey

Jake Gardiner -- Nikita Zaitsev

Travis Dermott -- Igor Ozhiganov

Frederik Andersen