The Background
Traveling to Toronto on February 22, 2020, the Carolina Hurricanes played in the second half of a back-to-back right before the 2020 Trade Deadline. They were coming off a 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers the night before at PNC Arena, getting burnt by the usual suspects and a couple of Rangers who later became Hurricanes. On this Saturday night, the Canes were trying to return to the winning side.
Just two months prior, the Canes and Maple Leafs met in Toronto and put on an absolute clinic in goal scoring before Christmas. The scoring was fast and furious. The Leafs jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period in the first 5:10 before the Canes scored five unanswered goals to lead 5-3 after 40 minutes. Toronto took over in the third period, outscoring the Canes 5-1 in the final frame, including the last four goals to win 8-6. Martin Necas scored twice and added two assists, only to be outdone by two goals and three assists from Mitch Marner.
Former Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer started that game in December for the Canes, lasting just over five minutes before being replaced by Petr Mrazek. Frederik Andersen was in the net for Toronto, earning the win despite allowing six goals. Reimer and Andersen would be back in the creases for their sides during their February meeting, looking to redeem themselves after rough performances.
Though entering the game with similar records and the same number of points, Carolina and Toronto were in very different positions. The Canes were struggling to separate themselves in a loaded Metropolitan Division. Meanwhile, Toronto was in third in the Atlantic Division, trying to fend off the oncoming Florida Panthers. Auston Matthews was tied for the league lead with 43 goals, while Sebastian Aho wasn't far behind with 35.