Match Overview

Coming off a close 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, the struggling New Jersey Devils are set to play the ever-dangerous Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s been a frustrating stretch for the Devils. They have been playing well, to an extent, but have been undermined by some poor finishing and, more importantly, bad goaltending. It will be a struggle to ward off Toronto’s high-powered offense, but they will have to do what they can in their own end. Hopefully, New Jersey can convert good possession metrics into more than one or two goals.

New Jersey currently holds a record of 15-23-5 and sits in dead last in the Metropolitan Division. The Leafs, on the other hand, own a record of 27-10-3 and are in third place in the Atlantic Division.

Lines and Pairings

Devils’ Lines

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Maple Leafs’ Lines

Forwards:

Bunting-Matthews-Marner

Kerfoot-Tavares-Nylander

Mikheyev-Kampf-Kase

Engvall-Spezza-Simmonds

Defense:

Rielly-Brodie

Sandin-Holl

Dermott-Liljegren

Goalies:

Campbell

Mrazek

What to Watch

Gillies Has to Play Well

It was a mixed bag from goaltender Jon Gillies on Saturday, he let in two soft goals that ended up being the deciding factor in the game, but after that, he played well. As he shut the Hurricanes out the rest of the way. This despite an abysmal third period which saw the Devils post a terrible 33.3 Corsi-for % (CF%). 

The Devils have had some terrible luck with goaltending this season: Jonathan Bernier, whom they signed over the offseason, is out for the season. Additionally, MacKenzie Blackwood, New Jersey’s number one starter, recently landed on the injured reserve for an injury he’s likely been dealing with all season. That leaves a combination of John Gillies, Akira Schmid, and Nico Daws to pick up the slack while they’re away.

Score Some Goals!

That being said, the Devils need to capitalize on the chances they’ve been having in the offensive zone. New Jersey had CF% of 54.76 and 62.07 in the first two periods Saturday, respectively. However, only scored on one of those chances. Through those two periods, the Devils had a 61.2% “Deserve to Win,” on Moneypuck’s “Deserve to Win O’Meter.” This might be a big ask considering what kind of season Jersey has been having. However, the Devils have to finish better, especially against the feared Maple Leafs. 

Tonight’s game can be seen on MSG at 7:30.