While all the talk was on Toronto's seven goal explosion on Saturday night, one thing that seemed to go unnoticed was Max Pacioretty's close call with injury.

Crag Berube was forced to shuffle the Leafs' lines at practice ahead of Wednesday's game against the Minnesota Wild with the imminent return of Max Pacioretty.

Pacioretty is projected to return to the Maple Leafs' lineup against the Wild while Knies could be back on Saturday against Edmonton.

The collapse was complete when Steven Lorentz was left all alone in front and he beat Montembeault to make it 6-3 Leafs. The Canadiens kept trying to claw their way back, but Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll did everything he could to protect the Leaf lead, including using the knob of his stick.

Joseph Woll will start for the Maple Leafs. The Wild are on the front end of a back-to-back tonight. They play the Montreal Canad

Filip Gustavsson made 32 saves for the Minnesota Wild in a 3-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday. “We had really strong work ethic,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said.

You can look to John Tavares and Matthew Knies’ imminent returns and hope they can spark the lineup, but this is still a team with Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner. Offence should not be this difficult and they have the raw talent to at least make games interesting. Tonight was far from it.

THROUGH GAMES OF THURSDAY, JAN. 30, 2025

The Minnesota Wild last played away on January 26 against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Wild won by a score of 4-2 in regulation, and their current league record is 29-17-4 for a 0.620 Points %. Tied with the Leafs in Points %, the Wild are third in the central with a goal differential even more slight than the Leafs at +3.

Leafs answered our poll. In part 1, we reveal the teammates most Leafs would like to be stuck with in an elevator, and more.

When: Wednesday, 7 p.m., Scotiabank Arena TV: Sportsnet Radio: The Fan 590 Odds: Wild +119, Maple Leafs -147 The buzz After winning four in a row from Dec. 31 to Jan. 7, the Wild has lost six of its past nine games,

Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz took a major step in his recovery as he stayed out for the entirety of Tuesday’s practice with the main group.