After a three-day break, the Leafs are set to host the Minnesota Wild tonight.

On Tuesday, Toronto got a good break too as the Wild announced that Kirill Kaprizov – a Hart Trophy candidate – will not play and will be sidelined indefinitely. Simply put, the Leafs need to find a way to win this game.

That’s where the conversation started on the Wednesday edition of Leafs Morning Take. We also discussed the 4 Nations and some of the injury concerns. Alex Pietrangelo has bowed out, yet he’s still playing games for Vegas. Also, it sounds like John Tavares and Matthew Knies are getting closer. Meantime, it’s funny how things work sometimes but it sounds like John Klingberg could be on track to make his Oilers debut on Saturday night against Toronto.

At any rate, brought to you by Greta Bar, we offered up a full game preview for Leafs/Wild. This is the second meeting of the season; Minnesota grabbed the first one, 2-1 in OT, in early November. The Leafs are 5-0-1 in their last six outings against them. Additionally, after missing three games with an upper body injury, it looks like Max Pacioretty will be returning to the lineup. It will be interesting to see how he looks with Fraser Minten and Nick Robertson. This will be Toronto’s final home game until February 22.

Then, Hockey Hall of Famer and current skills guru Adam Oates dropped by the show. It was a fascinating conversation. We got his thoughts on the Leafs, playing in Washington with Craig Berube, working with Max Domi, and what he would do to try and fix Toronto’s ailing power play.

Be sure to join us for the Thursday edition of Leafs Morning Take as we recap Leafs/Wild. Also, former NHL defender turned broadcaster now with NHL Network Jason Demers will drop by the show.

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