RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jordan Staal scored a hat trick to lead the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night. Eric Robinson, Jackson Blake and Seth Jarvis also scored for the Hurricanes while Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 30 shots for his first home win since Dec. 17.

As seems to be the case most years, the Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to be buyers at the trade deadline once again.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to keep a five-game win streak alive when they take on the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. Game time is 7:30 p.m. ET and you can watch it on ESPN+, which you can subscribe to as part of the Disney Bundle or sign up for separately for as low as $11.99/month.

O’Reilly, who signed a four-year, $18 million deal with the Predators in the offseason, has been an integral piece for Nashville but should remain an appealing target for Toronto in Johnson's eyes.

Could an extension be on the horizon for Toronto Maple Leafs forward Steven Lorentz? The 28-year-old became eligible to sign a contract extension with the organization on January 1, the earliest date players on one-year deals can sign new contracts.

Welcome back to NHL Predictions. Each day, Last Word on Hockey takes a look at the games that are scheduled and offers insight and analysis to help predict who will be victorious in head-to-head matchups.

No, Thornton isn't returning to the NHL to chase Marleau's record. Thornton is back in Toronto in a mentorship role, brought along by Leafs captain Auston Matthews as a "mentor" for a two-game road trip.

Craig Berube has slowly been cutting the ice time of veteran Leafs forward Ryan Reaves, which has led many to speculate that his time in Toronto is ending.

The Flyers finally returned to the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night after a grueling 10-game road trip but were unable to kick off their homestand on a positive note, falling to the Toronto Maple Leafs,

The Flyers' perpetually awful power play and declining penalty kill were mostly to blame in Tuesday's loss to the Maple Leafs.

For a second straight game, the Flyers fell to the Maple Leafs, this time a 3-2 regulation decision Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.