After a crushing overtime loss to the Capitals on Saturday, the New Jersey Devils (20-16-2, 5th Metropolitan) will head north to face the Toronto Maple Leafs (17-15-6, 8th Atlantic) in their penultimate game of 2025.
Overview
The Devils, suddenly on a three-game losing streak after a strong trip to the West Coast, are hoping for a strong end to the year against Toronto Tuesday and Columbus the following night. New Jersey’s fortunes took a noticeable dive in November amidst a slew of injuries from Jack Hughes to Brett Pesce to Arseny Gritsyuk, among others. They’ve gotten many of these players back, but have still only been able to tread water at their best. Their lack of scoring is the key cause of recent frustration. Before Saturday’s game, the Devils had gone five games in a row without scoring more than two goals. They desperately need to take advantage of a beleaguered Toronto squad.
The Maple Leafs have had it worse than the Devils in many respects. Coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the Red Wings, the Leafs sit at the bottom of a division many expected them to win. Leafs nation gained some optimism before Sunday’s game with big wins against Pittsburgh and Ottawa last week. Still, this team faces mounting pressure to stop underperforming and save their playoff hopes hanging on by a thread. They’ll have a prime opportunity to do that against the underperforming Devils tonight.
Lines and Pairings
Devils-
Forwards
Meier-Hischier-Mercer
Palat-Hughes-Bratt
Gritsyuk-Glass-Brown
Cotter-Glendening-Noesen
Defense
Siegenthaler-Hamilton
Hughes-Pesce
Dillion-White
Goalies
Markstrom
Allen
Maple Leafs-
Forwards
McMann-Matthews-Domi
MacCelli-Taveres-Knies
Joshua-Roy-Robertson
Lorentz-Laughton-Cowan
Defense
Rielly-Myers
McCabe-Tanev
Ekman Larsson-Stecher
Goalies
Woll
Hildeby
Keys to the Game
Devils Snakebitten
The Devils have a frustrating tendency of getting good offense and bad defense or goaltending on one night and the opposite the next. Right now, the Devils are on the good defense, bad offense side of the spectrum. This is not a new trend, but the team has felt it most these past few games.
Their five-on-five possession numbers tell a troubling story of a team that gets opportunities, but can’t find the back of the net. They rank a respectable 13th in Corsi-for percentage (CF%) at 50.62%, but a concerning 24th in High Danger CF% (HDCF%) at 48.02. Couple that with a shooting percentage of 7.26 at five-on-five, ranked dead last in the league, and it becomes clear that the Devils have been able to generate chances, but not many that make it to and fool the goalie.
Playmakers like Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt will need to step up and become sharpshooters, especially against a team like Toronto that has their own scoring struggles.
Is it Matthews or the System?
Auston Matthews’ struggles have been a key narrative for Toronto this season. The star center has 15 goals in 33 games this season, which doesn’t sound bad until you consider his peak of 69 goals just two seasons ago. Speculation has swirled that Matthews is dealing with some form of injury, while some analysts have pointed to newer head coach Craig Berube’s system forcing him to play a more defensive role as the source of his drought.
Losing Mitch Marner certainly doesn’t help his case. When Matthews is on, he is the driving force of Toronto’s offense. A recent offensive outburst of a goal and three assists in his last two games is a good sign, and the Leafs will need Matthews to be that driving force tonight against the Devils.
Where to Watch
Tuesday night’s game can be seen on MSG at 7:00 pm ET.