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Zdeno Chara set for Bruins reunion, other NHL storylines to follow

By Andrew Steele-Davis

Zdeno Chara #33 of the Washington Capitals. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Zdeno Chara #33 of the Washington Capitals. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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Wayne Simmonds (24)
Wayne Simmonds #24 of the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Photo by Codie McLachlan/Getty Images) /

Busy night in Canada

There will be three matchups in an ultra-competitive North Division tonight, and all three should be incredibly compelling to keep an eye on. For starters, the red-hot Toronto Maple Leafs take on the Edmonton Oilers, a team they beat 4-3 on Thursday thanks to contributions from up and down the lineup.

The Leafs, who are 7-2-0 on the year, are getting impressive play from star forward Mitch Marner who has 13 points (5 G, 8 A) on the year, while gritty forward Wayne Simmonds has goals in three straight games, providing the kind of secondary scoring that this team has long craved.

They are one of the best teams in the NHL right now but they will need to watch out for a bounce-back from the Oilers, who are currently a disappointing 3-6-0 on the year and, despite Leon Draisaitl riding a five-game goal streak and Connor McDavid leading the NHL in points with 14 (5 G, 9 A), Edmonton just can’t get depth scoring and that, coupled with bad goaltending, has been the main factor behind their poor start.

Alexander Romanov (27)
Alexander Romanov #27 of the Montreal Canadiens. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

We will then have a matchup between the Calgary Flames and the Montreal Canadiens, with the Canadiens looking like one of the most dangerous teams in the NHL with a 5-0-2 record to start the year. Ranked second in the NHL in Goals For Per Game (4.71) and spearheaded by offseason addition Tyler Toffoli, who has nine points (6 G, 3 A) in 6 games, the Canadiens look the real deal and they will be looking to take advantage of a Flames team that have dropped three straight.

Finally, the 5-5-0 Vancouver Canucks, who have won their last three, albeit all against the horrific Ottawa Senators, will go up against the impressive 5-2-0 Winnipeg Jets who are 10-0-0 in their last 10 games against the Canucks, the longest regular-season win streak against one opponent in franchise history. All three games have all the ingredients you could possibly want for a great night of hockey and all three games have huge implications already on what is an increasingly crowded North Division.

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