The hot streak comes at at perfect time for Matthews and the United States. The center, who grew up in Arizona, will join Team United States for the 4 Nations Face-Off in Montreal and Boston from Feb. 12-20 and begin play against Team Finland at Bell Centre on Feb. 13 (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS).

Welcome to a new featured series of NHL rumors on StadiumRant.com! According to sources, we will cover the latest rumors around the league. With just 37 days until the NHL trade deadline, teams are evaluating their trade options to improve their success.

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.

As speculation rises over which players may decide to sit out the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews will be suiting up for Team

The Toronto Maple Leafs have activated veteran winger Max Pacioretty off of injured reserve. He has missed the team’s last three games with an upper-body injury.

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 Mikko Rantanen trade brought up NHL speculation about the futures of the Maple Leafs' Mitch Marner and Penguins' Sidney Crosby, which were quickly addressed.

“It can be the most random time in the summer and no matter what, you’ll see 'RR' pop up on your phone,” Nick Robertson said. Every group chat needs an instigator; someone to keep the dialogue alive during low points. On and off the ice, Reaves fills that role.

We break down tonight's best NHL bets, including the Maple Leafs, Kings and Penguins moneyline offerings. Advanced stats and trends highlight the top plays.

Before the first goal, defenceman Morgan Rielly put up little resistance behind the Toronto net, losing a battle for the puck with Wild forward Jakub Lauko. The latter centred to Marat Khusnutdinov, who snapped the puck past an unprepared Woll at 7:07.

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.