The New Jersey Devils (37-36-5) regular season continues as their is now less than a week to play. After losing in a shootout the other night to the Nashville Predators, the Devils welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs to town. The two teams have met once already this season, and will meet two more times before the season concludes.
The Maple Leafs are coming into New Jersey with confidence, as they are coming off a big overtime victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins just last night. Toronto has a playoff spot locked up but are still being chased down by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Every two points counts, as they look to maintain third place in the division.
The Devils hopes still remain alive, as they are five points out of the second wild card spot. However, they have less than a 1% chance of making the playoffs via several outlets.
Matchup Overview
When the first two teams met, the Devils defeated the Maple Leafs 6-3 and scored two goals in each period. Jake Allen was stellar in net, as he has been since being traded to the Devils at the trade deadline. Toronto was certainly the better team, out-attempting and out-shooting the Devils but the Devils made sure to capitalize on their chances. They’ll want to do the same thing on home ice against them.
More injuries have popped up for the Devils, as they are now without Curtis Lazar and John Marino. The Devils have called up Shane Bowers from the Utica Comets, who will likely slot in on the fourth line. Nathan Bastian still remains out for the Devils.
Ilya Samsonov played against the Penguins, so there is a good chance the Devils will face Joseph Woll for the second time this season. With the Devils having fresh legs, they’ll look to take advantage of a team that played the night before.
Projected Lineups
Toronto Maple Leafs
Forwards
Bertuzzi-Matthews-Domi
McMann-Tavares-Marner
Knies-Holmberg-Nylander
Dewar-Kampf-Reaves
Defense
Rielly-Lyubushkin
Benoit-McCabe
Giordano-Brodie
Goalies
Woll
Samsonov
New Jersey Devils
Forward
Meier-Hischier-Mercer
Hughes-Haula-Bratt
Palat-Nosek-Holtz
Bowers-Tierney-Halonen
Defense
Hughes-Desimone
Bahl-Smith
Siegenthaler-Nemec
Goalies
Allen
Kahkonen
What to Watch For
Auston Matthews Chasing 70
You can make a compelling argument that the best pure goal scorer in the game is Auston Matthews. Last night he scored a goal against the Penguins and now has 65 on the season. He is five goals away from 70 and the Maple Leafs have five games left on the schedule. He is motivated and is playing some great hockey in the month of April.
In the last five games, Matthews has scored six goals and has a goal in all five games. Furthermore, he has had two multi-point games and has eight points in five games. He will play in all situations and find that extra open ice. For the Devils defense, all eyes will need to be on No. 34.
Keep on Fighting
The odds are not on the team’s side but just seeing the team claw and fight will be something to watch for. It has been a season where things have taken the rails off the track but the team has managed to remain in the thick of things until the end.
Injuries have plagued the season and have snake bitten the team towards the end, but the next man up mentality has been strong. Keep on fighting and finishing the year strong and on a high note will be something to watch for.
How to Watch
Tonight’s puck drop is at 7:00 pm ET and can be found on MSG.