Mitch Marner looks to extend streak as Toronto Maple Leafs meet Dallas Stars

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Tuesday night’s contest at American Airlines Center between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Dallas Stars is the first game in NHL history that includes two players with active point streaks of 18 games or more.

One is Mitch Marner, who looks to extend his Toronto franchise record to 20 in a row. The other is Jason Robertson of Dallas, who was last held off the scoresheet on Oct. 27, 18 games ago. The 23-year-old left wing was the NHL’s first star of the month in November and enters the encounter with a league-leading 23 goals in 25 games.

“He is on fire,” Auston Matthews, the Maple Leafs’ centre, said following practice Monday in Texas. “I wouldn’t say he is emerging. He has been scoring at a really high pace for the last couple of years.

“The consistency night in and night out is what’s most impressive. It’s not easy.”

Marner broke the club record held jointly by Darryl Sittler and Eddie Olczyk during Saturday’s 4-3 overtime defeat at Tampa.

Despite the loss Toronto has points in each of its last 11 games and is 15-5-6 and second in the Atlantic Division. The Stars came back from four goals down in the third period to tie Minnesota before they lost 6-5 on Sunday in a shootout. They are first in the Central Division at 14-6-5.

The Maple Leafs will give Matt Murray his second straight start in goal. The 28-year-old is 5-1-2 with a .921 save percentage. Ilya Samsonov will play on Thursday when the team returns home to Scotiabank Arena to face the Los Angeles Kings.

Dallas has a deep and talented roster that includes Tyler Seguin, Roope Hintz, Jamie Benn, Joe Pavelski and a top netminder in Jake Oettinger.

All eyes will be on Robertson, however. He has 34 points in those last 18 games and is third in the NHL in scoring with 41 points, six behind Connor McDavid. Robertson’s younger brother, Nicholas, also a left wing, plays for Toronto.

“Pucks find him at an incredible rate,” Sheldon Keefe, the Toronto head coach, said of Jason Robertson. “It speaks to his intelligence. He has great finishing ability but it is more than that.

“A lot of great players have that. He is an incredibly smart player with incredible hands.”

Marner scored twice – once short-handed and once on a power play in Saturday’s loss to the Lightning. He has nine goals and 17 assists over the last 19.

“I can’t say enough great things about him,” Matthews, one of Marner’s linemates, said. “I don’t think anybody is really surprised at the way he is playing. He can get as hot as anybody.

“He has really been turning the tables for our team.”

With Calle Jarnkrok on the injured list, Semyon Der-Arguchintsev was called up from the Toronto Marlies on Sunday and will make his NHL debut against Dallas.

A third-round pick in 2018, Der-Arguchintsev had six goals and 18 points in 20 games this season in the AHL.

“It feels unreal,” Der-Arguchintsev, 22 and from Moscow, said. “I have been waiting for this my whole life.

“I am not even sure how I can explain [it]. It is just incredible.”

Defenceman Conor Timmins, acquired in a trade with Arizona last month, will also play for Toronto for the first time. The 24-year-old has played in 41 games over the past four seasons with the Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche.

Keefe said he wanted Timmins to see some action before veteran T.J. Brodie returns from an injury.

Brodie practised with the team for the first time in a long time on Monday.

“I don’t think he is too far away,” Keefe said of Brodie. “We are not ruling anything out beyond Tuesday.

Tyler Seguin, who grew up in the Toronto area, always seems to play his best against his hometown club.

“They are a great team with elite players,” Seguin, a star centre for Dallas, said. “They have some tendencies in their own end that we think we can take advantage of.

“We’ll get the shot volume up and hopefully have success.”