'Hockey Night in Canada': 5 Storylines

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins face off for the first time this season when they play the first game of a "Hockey Night in Canada" doubleheader at TD Garden on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, CBC, SN360, NESN, NHL.TV).

The teams haven't played since April 25, when the Bruins scored four times in the third period for a 7-4 win in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference First Round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
In the second game, the Calgary Flames play the second of a three-game California trip when they face the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, SN360, FS-W, NHL.TV). It will be the third game for the Kings under new coach Willie Desjardins, who got the job after John Stevens was fired Sunday; they've split the first two. Calgary's 3-2 loss at the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday ended its four-game winning streak.
Here are 5 storylines to watch:

Grudge match

The Maple Leafs' last visit to TD Garden was one they'd rather forget. Toronto was 20 minutes away from completing a comeback from down 3-1 in the first-round series, only to allow four goals in the third period and see a one-goal lead turn into a season-ending 7-4 loss. The stakes won't be as high Saturday, but the Maple Leafs (11-5-0) will be trying for their fourth straight win, and the Bruins (8-5-2) will seek to bounce back after an 8-5 home loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday that dropped them into fourth place in the Atlantic Division. A win won't erase the pain of the playoff loss, but it would get the Maple Leafs two points closer to a chance at real revenge in the spring.

Road warriors

The Maple Leafs have had their ups and downs at home; they're 5-5-0 after a 6-1 win against the New Jersey Devils at Scotiabank Arena on Friday. But they've been perfect on the road. Toronto is 6-0-0 away from home and can match the Maple Leafs record for best start on the road, set by the 1940-41 team (the NHL record is 10 straight road wins to start a season, set by the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres). Among their road wins are victories at the Washington Capitals, Winnipeg Jets and Pittsburgh Penguins -- three teams that made the final eight in the 2018 playoffs. The Maple Leafs have outscored opponents 32-17 in the six road wins.

Bruins turn to Halak

Jaroslav Halak is the Bruins' No. 1 goaltender for now after Tuukka Rask was granted a leave of absence for personal reasons Friday. Halak, 33, has plenty of experience as an NHL starter and played better than Rask during the first month of the season. Even after allowing five goals before being pulled in the loss to the Canucks on Thursday, Halak has a 1.96 goals-against average, a .936 save percentage and two shutouts. He's been a starter for most of his NHL career, so the workload shouldn't be an issue. Halak is 8-3-4 with a 2.91 GAA and .909 save percentage in 16 games against Toronto.

Flames goaltending

Calgary has had no trouble scoring goals. Keeping the puck out of the net is another issue, and Mike Smith has been part of the problem. The 36-year-old is 5-5-1 with a 3.66 GAA (third-worst among the 23 NHL goalies who have started at least 10 games) and .872 save percentage (last). Smith's career numbers are much better; he has a 2.71 GAA and .912 save percentage in 540 NHL games. He's losing playing time to backup David Rittich (4-1-0), 2.23 GAA, .927 save percentage), who will make his 22nd NHL start against the Kings. Smith has had some excellent performances (3-0 win at the Nashville Predators, 3-1 victory at the Maple Leafs), but they've been too few and far between, so another good effort from Rittich could change the goaltending dynamic in Calgary.

Kovalchuk's successful return

Lost in the Kings' slow start has been the fact that Ilya Kovalchuk has produced offensively the way they hoped he would when they signed the 35-year-old forward to a three-year, $18.75 million contract July 1 after he played five seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League. Kovalchuk leads the Kings with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 15 games, including nine points (three goals, six assists) in his past five games. The line of Kovalchuk on the left wing with center Jeff Carter and right wing Tyler Toffoli has been the Kings' best offensive unit so far this season. Kovalchuk was a point-per-game player before he went to Russia and shows no evidence that he's lost anything.