Overview
Tonight, the New Jersey Devils will look to tie the second-longest winning streak in franchise history, as they seek their 11th-straight win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, it won’t be easy against a very good Leafs squad. Though, the Leafs have had to fight through injuries to both of their goalies as well as two of their top defenseman in Jake Muzzin and TJ Brodie.
The Devils hold a record of 13-3-0 and are in first place in the Metropolitan Division. The Maple Leafs are 9-5-3 and sit in second place in the Atlantic Division.
Lines and Pairings
Devils –
Forwards:
Tatar-Hischier-Zetterlund
Hughes-Haula-Mercer
Sharangovich-Boqvist-Bratt
Wood-McLeod-Bastian
Defense:
Siegenthaler-Hamilton
Graves-Marino
Smith-Severson
Goalies:
Vanecek
Schmid
Maple Leafs –
Forwards:
Bunting-Matthews-Nylander
Kerfoot-Tavares-Marner
Engvall-Holmberg-Jarnkrok
Aston-Reese-Kampf-Malgin
Defense:
Rielly-Benn
Giordano-Holl
Sandin-Liljegren
Goalies:
Murray
Kallgren
Keys to the Game
Jack Hughes Burning Media and Players On The Ice
Although the team has only been on the road for a few days now, it’s already been an eventful road trip for Jack Hughes. The fourth-year forward had a humorous comeback to a member of the Canadian media who asked about the Devils needing to play more consistently. Jack replied saying, “We’re on a nine-game heater, I’d say we’re doing ok.”
Hughes would stay true to his statement as his two goal, three-point outing helped lead the team to their 10th-consecutive win. He leads the team on the winning streak with 15 points in those 10 games.
Toronto’s Goaltending Woes
After playing just two games to start the season, Maple Leafs’ starting goaltender Matt Murray went down with a groin injury. Just a couple weeks later, Ilya Samsonov, who had been playing fantastic in Murray’s absence, left a game against Boston with a knee injury. That game was just under two weeks ago, and since Samsonov went down, the goaltending duties have fallen on the shoulders of 26 year old rookie Erik Kallgren.
Since the injury, Kallgren has collected a mediocre .907 save percentage, however, the Leafs collected a respectable 2-1-1 record during that span.
Matt Murray returned from injury against his former team, the Pittsburgh Penguins, on Tuesday which could be the end of the interesting story that is Erik Kallgren. Leafs fans should be appreciative of what Kallgren was able to do in his time in the spotlight though. Holding down the fort against teams just as Boston, Carolina, and Vegas are certainly not easy tasks.