Riding a four-game winning streak, the New Jersey Devils (4-1-0, second Metropolitan) will face the Toronto Maple Leafs (3-2-1, third Atlantic) at Scotiabank Arena Tuesday night.
The Devils are red-hot to start the year. They just beat the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers, the two defending conference champions, in their last two games. While the Devils didn’t dominate possession or offensive zone time in either of those wins, they still managed to win both times in convincing fashion. The Devils come into Tuesday night’s matchup still facing major injury concerns, including Jacob Markström, Evgenii Dadanov, and Stefan Noesen. They’ve still managed to get the job done in their absence, and will look to do the same against a strong Toronto squad.
The Maple Leafs have been a mixed bag to start the year. They’ve won a couple of dominant games against the Canadiens and Predators, but dropped two to the Red Wings between those wins. Most recently, the Leafs are coming off an overtime loss to the Kraken on Saturday, and tensions flared after the game amidst the frustration. Toronto will look to put that ugliness behind them with a win over New Jersey.
Lines and Pairings
Devils-
Forwards
Palat-Hughes-Bratt
Meier-Hischier-Mercer
Gritsyuk-Glass-Brown
Cotter-Glendening-Halonen
Defense
Hughes-Pesce
Siegenthaler-Hamilton
Dillion-Nemec
Goalies
Allen
Daws
Maple Leafs-
Forwards
Knies-Matthews-Domi
Maccelli-Tavares-Nylander
Joshua-Roy-McMann
Robertson-Lorentz-Jarnkrok
Defense
Rielly-Carlo
McCabe-Tanev
Benoit-Ekman Larsson
Goalies
Stolarz
Primeau
Keys To The Game
Stolarz Lashes Out
Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz had some strong words for his team after the loss to Seattle, and he didn’t hesitate to air them out to the media. He criticized the team for not protecting him after he got run over by Kraken forward Mason Marchment. He also criticized the team for making shots too easy for opposing goaltenders, saying the Leafs’ shots are like “playing catch.”
Whether it was Stolarz’s place to say what he did, the team seems to have put the incident behind them. Still, such strong words to the media demand a response on the ice. Look for the Leafs to come out swinging, perhaps literally, against New Jersey.
Devils Look to Gain Control
The Devils are getting the job done against good teams, but probably not in the most sustainable way. They haven’t notched more than 25 shots in a game yet, and scratched just 18 on the board on Saturday. The key for New Jersey has been to capitalize on the chances they do get, which are usually high-danger. They are currently scoring on 13.9% of their shots, good for second in the NHL. The Devils should expect some negative regression on that number and will need to control possession if they want to win sustainably.
Where to Watch
Tuesday’s game can be seen on MSG at 7:00 pm ET.