On Monday night the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in overtime. That same night the New Jersey Devils defeated the Buffalo Sabres 6-2.
One is coming off a strong comeback against a multiple time Stanley Cup champion in front of a pumped up home crowd, and the other smacked around a team that can’t figure out if they’re done rebuilding or not, and has the star player getting people fired.
Gee, I wonder who had the harder workout coming into this game?
New Jersey Devils @ Toronto Maple Leafs
7:30PM - Air Canada Centre
TV: Sportsnet
Radio: TSN1050 / Sportsnet590
SBN: In Lou We Trust, wait that’s us now.
SBN: Something about Jersey.
It’s been a very exciting start to the season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Three wins in a row, 19 goals scored, and a hell a lot of fun. We can’t rest on our laurels though, I mean, as fans we influence the games greatly by yelling at the TV.
Toronto Maple Leafs lines
From morning practice
Zach Hyman - Auston Matthews - William Nylander
Patrick Marleau - Nazem Kadri - Leo Komarov
James van Riemsdyk - Tyler Bozak - Mitchell Marner
Matt Martin - Dominic Moore - Connor Brown
Spares: Josh Leivo, Eric Fehr
Morgan Rielly - Ron Hainsey
Jake Gardiner - Nikita Zaitsev
Andreas Borgman - Calle Rosen
Spares: Roman Polak, Connor Carrick
Federik Andersen
Curtis McElhinney
New Jersey Devils lines
From AATJ preview
Taylor Hall - Pavel Zacha - Jesper Bratt
Marcus Johansson - Nico Hischier - Jimmy Hayes
Miles Wood - Adam Henrique - Kyle Palmieri
Brian Gibbons - Blake Coleman - Stefan Noesen
Andy Greene - Damon Severson
John Moore - Will Butcher
Mirco Mueller - Steven Santini
Cory Schneider - the starter tonight
Keith Kinkaid
Numbers Preview
| Maple Leafs | Team | Devils |
|---|---|---|
| 265GF - 226GA - +29 | Goal Differential | 238GF - 234GA - +4 |
| 24.4% - 2nd overall | Power Play | 21.7 - 10th overall |
| 81.3% - 12th overall | Penalty Kill | 81.9% - 7th overall |
| James van Riemsdyk - 36 | Most Goals | Taylor Hall - 39 |
| Mitch Marner - 47 | Most Assists | Taylor Hall - 54 |
| Mitch Marner - 69 | Most Points | Taylor Hall - 93 |
| Matt Martin - 50 | Most PM | Miles Wood - 84 |
| Jake Gardiner - 22:33/G | TOI Leader | Sami Vatanen - 22:42 |
| Frederik Andersen - .917sv% | Starting Goalie | Keith Kincaid - .911sv% |
The New Jersey Devils have only played two games, so there’s not a lot to judge them by. Tonight we are treated to the first visit by the 2018 first overall pick, Nico Hischier, and that should be a blast. He’s a pretty good hockey guy.
Neither one of these teams have lost a game, so someone is getting their first tonight. Hopefully it’s not the Leafs. However, while the Toronto Maple Leafs are playing one of their best starts in recent seasons, we can all hope that they continue but we should be prepared for a loss. Tthat’s where I come on. I’m here to help you prepare for the inevitable, even if it doesn’t happen tonight.
When the Maple Leafs lose their first game of the season, stop, put down your social media device, and think back to the other games of the season.
Remember all those goals? All that cheering? The excitement? Great.
Okay, now that you’ve remembered the good times, now look into the game. You may want to make yourself sound like the smartest person on Twitter, but just remember, you’re not, and you can’t appoint yourself that title.
So there were bad points, but we’re only a few games into the season and it’s okay to lose one, and we just need to find out what we can learn from the game.
Unless it’s a blow out then trade all those bastards.
