No lineup changes for Maple Leafs as team aims to end six-game trip with win in Carolina

The Maple Leafs aren’t naive enough to think they’ll strike easily on their first shot on goal Thursday night, let alone against one of the top defensive teams in the NHL.

A statistical anomaly of the past three games is Toronto scoring on its first effort, which has happened only 15 times in league history, according to NHLStats, and is one short of the record held by the 2001-02 Tampa Bay Lightning.

And no team has had three defencemen do it on those opening salvoes, like Morgan Rielly, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Troy Stecher triggered the damage for Toronto.

Don’t expect the Carolina Hurricanes to be intimidated. At 24.5 shots against per game, they have the Eastern Conference’s stingiest record in that department, keeping the opposition to fewer than 20 shots the past three games.

Defensive hockey has always been a hallmark of coach Rod Brind’Amour.

The Leafs are more interested in what the full 60 minutes or overtime can yield as they wrap up six straight on the road.

The trip that began under such a cloud, with a passive defeat in a much-hyped game in Montreal on a Saturday night, could turn out as the Leafs most successful trip of five games or more in almost 20 years.

Not since January of 2007, when Paul Maurice was their coach, have the Leafs won four times in a road swing of this length, entering Raleigh at 3-2 after wins in Columbus, Pittsburgh and Florida.

Current coach Craig Berube told media on Thursday morning that he will not make any lineup changes. That includes netminder Joseph Woll, who takes a .947 save percentage from his past three starts into this, after two wins by a combined 11-3 scoreline.

The Canes currently are a strong second in the Metropolitan Division (16-7-2), one of those victories their 5-4 decision a month ago at Scotiabank Arena. That’s when Toronto gave up a season-high 47 shots on Dennis Hildeby after Anthony Stolarz went out of the lineup due to injury. Carolina has just three regulation losses at home.

The special-teams battle should be interesting, with the Leafs’ five-forward power play ripe for second guessing after Florida burned it for a short-handed goal.

The whole unit has been struggling all season, both in tying to draw some calls and an ineffective 15.2% when they do. But the Canes are inexplicably worse at 13.7%, second last in the league.

lhornby@postmedia.com

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