Leafs Preview Nov 17

The Devils continue their road trip thought Eastern Canada with a stop in Toronto to face the Leafs on Thursday night.
You can watch on MSG or listen on the
Devils Hockey Network
.
For your game preview, pre-game interviews and stories click below!

YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS

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PRE-GAME STORY

TORONTO, ON --
After a day off on Wednesday, the Devils held a full morning skate today in Toronto, preparing to face the Maple Leafs. Although the Devils are on a 10-game winning streak, the message around the room doesn't necessarily reflect that success. That's because this group remains hungry for more and is never quite satisfied.

Wise Words

A ten-game win streak is exciting, but Erik Haula described it best, about keeping an impressive run like this one in perspective. Of course, he says, it is great to build a cushion and some breathing room in the standings, but we haven't even hit the 20-game mark of an 82 games schedule. Perspective is paramount to long-term success.
"I was last year on a team that had over 100 points and was a Wild Card team," Haula shared this morning, "So it just puts it in a little bit of perspective of you know, you can't take any rest and having that attitude that every game is really important."

Simple Starts

Not staying satisfied means working on even the smallest of details and for the Devils one of those areas has been the opening period of games, and to break it down further, the opening minutes of the opening period.
The end results have been great on this run, but there's still plenty of room for improvement and it starts right at the beginning.
"It's great, I can compliment everybody and I think the big thing is work ethic, that's where it starts," Brendan Smith said, "But those detail parts, we still need to work on. And there are still a lot of areas. An area that I think we need to work on is our first period, we have to come out a little bit better. And I felt like early, game four, five, six, I thought we had some pretty good starts there. And that's an area we want to get back to."

Four Lines Deep

Part of the success for the Devils has been the way they come at their opponents in waves, every single line contributing on the scoresheet and with their tenacity. They are relentless and keep coming at their opponents because they are playing as a full team.
"I really have been trying hard to make this about the team," Lindy Ruff said, "All four lines are being able to play on both sides of the puck and play in any situation. I think that if you can get that, you can get more out of your shifts and out of your group."

PREVIEW

DEVILS (13-3-0) at MAPLE LEAFS (9-5-3)
TV:Televised at 7 p.m. ET on MSG
RADIO:Listen at 7 p.m. ET on
Devils Hockey Network
Head-to-Head:
The Devils and Leafs meet for the first time this season, as New Jersey takes on another Canadian opponent.
Last season the Leafs won all three matchups with New Jersey, outscoring the Devils by a 16 to 7 margin.
Devils Team Scope:
The Devils take their longest win streak since the 2005-06 season into Scotiabank Place in Toronto. After defeating the Canadiens 5-1 on Tuesday, the Devils improved to 6-0-0 against Canadian teams early this season.
Vitek Vanecek returned to the Devils lineup after sitting out the previous game for precautionary reasons and returned in fine form making 25 saves on 26 shots and a .962 save percentage.
Dougie Hamilton had an unassisted goal against Montreal and an assist to extend his point streak to five games (3G, 4A), while Jack Hughes had a two-goal night. The Devils are 6-0-0 this season when Hughes scores a goal.
Maple Leafs Team Scope:
The Leafs are coming off of a 5-2 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins, a game where captain John Tavares scored his 400th career goal. Toronto goaltender Matt Murray returned to the Leafs crease for the first time since suffering an adductor injury on Oct. 15. He made 35 saves in his return.
The Leafs are 5-2-3 in their last 10 games, while over their last five-game stretch Mitch Marner leads the club with six points. Over that same span, William Nylander leads the Leafs in goals with three.
By the Numbers:
The last time that the Devils won at Toronto was on Oct. 11, 2017, in a 6-3 win.
Hughes leads the Devils with 15 PTS (6g-9a) since the team's 10-game winning streak began on Oct. 25, at Detroit.
Injuries:
Devils
Blackwood (Knee - MCL sprain - IR)
Bernier (Hip - LTIR)
Palat (Groin surgery - IR)
Maple Leafs
Brodie (Oblique - IR)
Muzzin (Cervical spine - IR)
Samsonov (knee)