New Jersey Devils @ Toronto Maple Leafs
07:00 PM at Scotiabank Arena
Watch on: TSN4, MSG

The Leafs last game was at home on October 18 against the Seattle Kraken, which Toronto lost by a score of 4-3 in overtime. The Leafs have a record of 3-2-1 for a 0.583 Points %.

The New Jersey Devils last played at home on October 18 against the Edmonton Oilers. The Devils won by a score of 5-3 in regulation, and their current league record is 4-1-0 for a 0.800 Points %.

Them

The Devils still have key players on IR, something that seems to be their destiny, but they are playing well so far this season, or at least they are when Jake "Leafs Killer" Allen is in net. Jacob Markstrom is out week-to-week.

The Devils have a similar profile to what the Leafs used to have. They possess the puck a lot, they have a high-rate of offence, and they are mediocre to bad defensively.

The big difference is that they use their defence extensively in offensive roles. Most teams have one guy like Dougie Hamilton or Luke Hughes, on the Devils they both rank in the top five for shot rate. It is Timo Meier and Jack Hughes who are the serious threats, however. Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier have been very good so far this season from a points perspective, giving the team two solid lines.

This is the first seriously constructed, quality, skilled team the Leafs will face.

Lines

Kristy Flannery via Daily Faceoff

Ondrej Palat - Jack Hughes - Jesper Bratt
Timo Meier - Nico Hischier - Dawson Mercer
Arseny Gritsyuk - Cody Glass - Connor Brown
Paul Cotter - Luke Glendening - Brian Halonen

Luke Hughes - Brett Pesce
Jonas Siegenthaler - Dougie Hamilton
Brenden Dillon - Simon Nemec

Jake Allen - confirmed starter
Nico Daws

Us

Anthony Stolarz made a splash, and no one really walked any of it back the following day. To sum up he said that the play in front of the Leafs net is lacking, but more importantly, the Leafs make it too easy for the opposing goalie. "Playing catch in the yard" was the key turn of phrase. Contrary to the spin that he's just butthurt about being run, it was reporters who brought that up, not him.

Auston Matthews said they're all big boys and they talked it out, and Stolarz emphasized that he is paid to stop the puck and he should have had the OT goal vs the Kraken. I say that the Leafs should never have been in OT vs the Kraken.

Now it's the next game, the lines are juggled around, as they should be considering the double-pronged attack of the Devils.

If you see lineups as equivalent to the org chart at a spreadsheets and meetings job, then you will see Max Domi as promoted. He's been very good, actually, although when he plays as 3C, his line plays in the least important minutes, showing a serious lack of confidence in them from Berube. On the top line, he is there to distribute pucks.

The resulting third line is a mix of big, tough and fast, sometimes within the same person. I think we're going to see them tasked with a shutdown role, and it is about time we get to see if this works or not. This is what you get Dakota Joshua for, not to try to be a scoring winger who has to skate anywhere in a hurry.

Easton Cowan sits, the net belongs to the New Jersey boy with the candid comments, and we'll see how this all works out.

Lines

Mark Masters via Daily Faceoff and confirmed as today's lineup.

Matthew Knies - Auston Matthews - Max Domi
Matias Maccelli - John Tavares - William Nylander
Dakota Joshua - Nicolas Roy - Bobby McMann
Nicholas Robertson - Steven Lorentz - Calle Järnkrok

Morgan Rielly - Brandon Carlo
Jake McCabe - Chris Tanev
Simon Benoit - Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Anthony Stolarz - confirmed starter
Cayden Primeau

The Game

Okay, I get it. Last night was amazing for both the outcome and the level of tension. There is no possible way this Leafs game can touch that experience. No one is likely to say, "I tell you what," before every comment from the booth either.

"The regular season doesn't matter" crowd bemuse me, though. Do you only watch the last ten minutes of the film, do you skip to the last chapter, do you forever wander in a context-free world? Because it does matter. And the 82 NHL games are as big a test as the baseball season that goes on and on like a summer night in early July. The essence of baseball seems anathema to the idea of "I just watch clips online." But then so it is with hockey where the play starts long before the goal gif.

I haven't watched a minute of baseball in decades until this playoffs, and I'm having fun, but it is like being suspended in mid air, untethered to the reality of the team. I did not know who the hell that pitcher was last night who came in in relief, and the broadcast started talking about Don Mattingly and I didn't know why. I don't know who is being redeemed or who is doing eternal battle with the great demon randomness. I don't know who is out there hugging a guy they likely want to punch in the mouth either. There's no way this playoffs matters as much without context as it does with.

Watch the games. Get in the rhythm of a season where every second is actually not so important you need the breathe into a paper bag gif. Let it happen. Be a leaf on the wind... no wait... uh... anyway, you're totally forgiven if you ignore the Sabres games on the weekend, but the playoffs don't matter without the 82 games that came before.

Game Coverage