New Jersey Devils at Toronto Maple Leafs
Time: 7:00PM
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, North America, Earth, far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Milky Way Galaxy
Broadcast/Streaming: TSN4, TVA Sports, NHL Live
Opponent SBNation Site: Something about Lou?
I know I was controversial in the dek up there, but I’m sorry. Is it really a Hockey Hall of Fame class without any former Maple Leafs?
2017: Dave Andreychuk
2016: Eric Lindros, Pat Quinn
2015: Phil Housley
2014: Pat Burns
2013: Brendan Shanahan (it counts retroactively)
2012: Mats Sundin
2011: Joe Nieuwendyk, Doug Gilmour, Ed Belfour
This year? No Leafs. This is offensive.
Speaking of offensive, the Maple Leafs host the New Jersey Devils tonight, who LOST 7-3 to the Ottawa Senators. The Sens were motivated after the Uber embarrassing video fiasco but man, you just shouldn’t lose to the Senators. What kind of loser team would do that?
In their past five the Devils have lost to the Lightning 8-3, the Red Wings 4-3, Shut out the Islanders 3-0, beat the Penguins 5-1, and had the unfortunate Senators loss.
What a weird combo of wins and losses, eh?
The Maple Leafs on the other hand beat the Jets* 3-2, lost to the Flames 3-1, lost to the Stars 2-1, then shut out the Penguins 5-0, and beat the Golden Knights 3-1.
Both of these teams scored five goals against the Penguins. So of course tonight will probably end up 1-0 in a shootout.
Maple Leafs
Forward Lines
Zach Hyman - John Tavares - Mitch Marner
Patrick Marleau - Nazem Kadri- Kasperi Kapanen
Andreas Johnsson - Par Lindholm - Connor Brown
Josh Leivo - Frederik Gauthier - Tyler Ennis
Defence Pairings
Morgan Rielly - Ron Hainsey
Jake Gardiner - Nikita Zaitsev
Travis Dermott - Igor Ozhiganov
Goaltenders
Frederik Andersen
Garret Sparks
Andersen is the confirmed starter.
New Jersey Devils
Forward Lines
Taylor Hall - Nico Hischier - Kyle Palmieri
Marcus Johansson - Brett Seney - Jesper Bratt
Blake Coleman - Travis Zajac - Joey Anderson
Brian Boyle - Jean-Sebastien Dea - Miles Wood
Defence Pairings
Mirco Mueller - Sami Vatanen
Andy Greene - Damon Severson
Will Butcher - Ben Lovejoy
Goaltenders
Cory Schneider
Keith Kinkaid
Leafs vs Bruins
| Maple Leafs | Team | Bruins |
|---|---|---|
| 20-8-0-1 | Record | 14-10-0-4 |
| 106GF - 78GA - +28 | Goal Differential | 72GF - 72GA |
| 26.7% - 6th | Power Play | 27% - 4th |
| 80.3% - 15th | Penalty Kill | 77% - 24th |
| John Tavares - 18 | Most Goals | David Pastrnak - 20 |
| Mitch Marner - 34 | Most Assists | Krejci / Marchand / Bergeron - 17 |
| Mitch Marner - 40 | Most Points | David Pastrnak - 32 |
| Hyman / Kadri - 16 | Most PM | Brad Marchand - 72 |
| Morgan Rielly - 22:18/G | TOI Leader | Torey Krug - 22:35 |
| Frederik Andersen - .931sv% | Starting Goalie | Jaroslav Halak - .932sv% |
On the surface you would expect the Leafs to beat the Devils. They have a +11 goal differential, the Devils are -1. The Leafs are second in their division, the Devils are last. Both teams however do have a depth scoring issue; relying on their top lines to do most of the work in the offensive zone.
Don’t take the Devils lightly tonight Leafs. You have Boston tomorrow night, and that’s the more important game, but a casual game tonight will get you burned.
