Toronto Maple Leafs (8-8-3, 23rd in NHL) vs. New Jersey Devils (9-6-3, 13th in NHL)
Puck drop: 7:00 p.m. EST
Arena: Prudential Center
Watch: Sportsnet One, Sportsnet East
Game Day Notes
– On paper, the matchup doesn’t stack up favourably for the Leafs, who enter the game 0-3-0 in back-to-back situations and have been outscored 12-4 over those games. The Leafs are also 1-5-3 away from the ACC this season, while the Devils are undefeated in regulation on home ice (6-0-1). The Devils enter the game having lost three straight games on their road trip through California, however.
– The Leafs should be primed for what’s to come in New Jersey after playing the Carolina Hurricanes last night; the Devils are bottom-five team in offense but are allowing just 2.33 goals a game (7th in the NHL). Babcock said after the loss last night, “these are games we have to get better in… we’ve won more open games than tight games.” They’re unlikely to produce many more chances off the rush than they did last night (very few); the goals are likely going to have to come by generating off of the cycle and getting inside the dots. Another good test for the young Leafs as they look to prove they can win ugly, with the added challenge of playing tired on the road against a rested opponent.
– Mike Babcock has indicated Martin Marincin — who “he doesn’t want sitting for too long” — will enter the lineup tonight having last played in the 6-2 win over Nashville. He collected an assist but played a season-low 15:14 in that game. Babcock’s mention of making sure Marincin continues to get game time seems to be in reference to the improvement we saw from Marincin last season when he got more minutes and games under his belt following the Dion Phaneuf trade and Matt Hunwick injury. He seemed to slowly adjust to the pace of the game and played his best hockey down the stretch. Marincin has struggled so far this season and needs to be better, but going in and out of the press box — and often playing his off side — isn’t easy in terms of settling into a rhythm.
– Jhonas Enroth will start his third game of the season and his first since October 30th in New York. He came in as relief for Frederik Andersen in the team’s 7-0 loss to LA and filled in for a few minutes after Andersen was kicked out for leaving his net in an attempt to fight Ryan Miller against Vancouver, but he’s basically gone without significant game action for three and a half weeks (Babcock went with Andersen in both legs of the most recent back-to-back versus Philadelphia and Pittsburgh). This is a big game — against a low-scoring Devils team that is without Taylor Hall — for Enroth to prove he can be relied on more often as the season progresses. He’s lost both his starts so far and given up eight goals in those games, while also giving up three on 17 shots in relief versus LA. No question the team has to be better in front of him, too.
Matchup Stats
Statistics courtesy of SportingCharts.com
| Stat | Leafs | Devils |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 19 | 21 |
| Record % | 0.528 | 0.583 |
| Home Winning % | 0.778 | 0.917 |
| Away Winning % | 0.278 | 0.364 |
| Shootout Winning % | 0 | 1 |
| Goal Differential Per Game | -0.11 | -0.11 |
| Shot Differential Per Game | -1.06 | 0.22 |
| Hits Per Game | 27.2 | 20.6 |
| PIM Per Game | 12.2 | 7.7 |
| Opponent PIM Per Game | 13.5 | 8.3 |
| Goals Per Game | 3.17 | 2.22 |
| Even Strength Goals Per Game | 2.5 | 1.78 |
| Power Play Goals Per Game | 0.61 | 0.39 |
| Shots Per Game | 32.6 | 30.7 |
| Shots Per Goal | 10.3 | 13.8 |
| Team Shooting % | 0.097 | 0.073 |
| Power Play % | 0.216 | 0.119 |
| Goals Against Per Game | 3.28 | 2.33 |
| ES Goals Against Per Game | 2.72 | 1.72 |
| PP Goals Against Per Game | 0.5 | 0.56 |
| Shots Against Per Game | 33.61 | 30.44 |
| Shots Against Per Goal | 10.25 | 13.05 |
| Opp. Team Shooting % | 0.098 | 0.077 |
| Penalty Kill % | 0.842 | 0.815 |
| Save % | 0.903 | 0.923 |
| Goals Against Average | 3.25 | 2.3 |
| Shutouts | 0 | 0 |
| Opponent Save % | 0.903 | 0.928 |
| Opponent Goals Against Average | 3.14 | 2.19 |
| Opponent Shutouts | 1 | 1 |
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
Leo Komarov – Nazem Kadri – William Nylander
van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Mitch Marner
Zach Hyman – Auston Matthews – Connor Brown
Matt Martin – Ben Smith – Nikita Soshnikov
Defencemen
Morgan Rielly – Nikita Zaitsev
Jake Gardiner – Connor Carrick
Matt Hunwick – Martin Marincin
Scratched: Roman Polak, Peter Holland, Frank Corrado
Goaltenders
Starter: Jhonas Enroth (Expected)
Backup: Frederik Andersen
New Jersey Devils Projected Lines
Forwards
Michael Cammalleri – Travis Zajac – P.A. Parenteau
Reid Boucher – Adam Henrique – Devante Smith-Pelly
Pavel Zacha – Jacob Josefson – Beau Bennett
Sergey Kalinin – Vernon Fiddler – Nick Lappin
Defencemen
Andy Greene – Damon Severson
John Moore – Ben Lovejoy
Yohann Auvitu – Kyle Quincey
Goaltenders
Starter: Cory Scheider (Confirmed)
Backup: Kevin Kinkaid
