Jets and Maple Leafs Win in Battles of 1st and 2nd Place Division Leaders

Games involving the 1st and 2nd place teams in the Atlantic and Central Divisions highlighted NHL hockey action on January 17th.

In Tampa, the 2nd place Toronto Maple Leafs took on the Atlantic Division leading Tampa Bay Lightning. In the teams’ first meeting back on December 13th, the Lightning prevailed 4-1. That game was also in Tampa. Toronto had lost five of seven, so while this wasn’t a must win game, it was one step in preventing the Lightning from running away with the Atlantic. More importantly, Tampa Bay has the best record in the entire league at 36-10-2 (74 points), so winning this game would be at least one step to keep the Lightning within shouting distance.

The Leafs got goals from four different players and goalie Frederik Anderson had 36 saves as Toronto evened up the season series at a game apiece with a 4-2 victory. The Maple Leafs improved to 29-15-2 (60 points).

The two play each other twice more in the regular season, on March 11th and April 4th, both of which are in Toronto.

In Nashville, the 2nd place Predators hosted the Central Division leading Winnipeg Jets. This Jets had control of this one, winning 5-1 over the Predators. Brendan Lemieux led Winnipeg with a pair of goals, and goalie Connor Hellebuycyk had 37 saves in the Jets’ fourth win in a row.

The Jets improved to 31-14-2 (64 points) while Nashville fell to 28-17-4 (60 points). Nashville won the first game of this season series 3-0 in Nashville on October 11th. The final two games in the series, both in Winnipeg, are on March 1st and 23rd.