The Minnesota Wild scored two first-period goals and got a 31-save effort from Filip Gustavsson to key a 3-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs Wednesday in Toronto.

Squaring off with nearly identical records entering Wednesday’s contest, the Toronto Maple Leafs were presented with a key opportunity to get out of a rut against a quality Minnesota Wild team, with a four-game road trip on the horizon before the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

Rielly has two points in his last 11 games with Toronto and admitted after Wednesday's 3-1 loss to Minnesota that he needs to be better.

Ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs' game on Wednesday against the Minnesota Wild, there are reports of a heavy scout presence in the arena raising trade speculation.

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.

BOTTOM LINE: The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Minnesota Wild hit the ice in a non-conference matchup. Toronto is 19-10-0 at home and 30-18-2 overall. The Maple Leafs have a 13-5-1 record when scoring a power-play goal.

Identifying the holes in the Leafs' lineup is fairly straightforward. Patching them at the trade deadline? Much less so.

Filip Gustavsson made 31 saves as the Minnesota Wild edged Toronto 3-1 on Wednesday, sending the Maple Leafs to a third straight regulation loss.

The Wild have struggled since the injuries to these two occurred, winning just four of the 10 games since Brodin was injured, allowing 31.3 shots per game, and ranking 30th in GAA while allowing four or more goals in seven of the 10 outings.

The Toronto Maple Leafs made some crucial roster moves ahead of their game against the Minnesota Wild, activating Max Pacioretty and moving Matthew Knies to the IR.