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 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).

Captain Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs hit the ice on Wednesday morning for practice to get set to host the Minnesota Wild later that evening at Scotiabank Arena. With Minnesota coming to Toronto,

Jared Spurgeon and Marat Khusnutdinov scored in the first period, Filip Gustavsson stopped 31 shots, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1.

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.