Devils at Maple Leafs preview

DEVILS (17-21-7) at MAPLE LEAFS (24-16-6)
7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SNO, MSG+, NHL.TV

The defenseman will be out a minimum of eight weeks after he sustained a fractured foot blocking a shot during an 8-4 loss at the Florida Panthers on Sunday. Rielly has 27 points (three goals, 24 assists) in 46 games and leads all Maple Leafs in average ice time per game at 24:15.
Defenseman
Rasmus Sandin
, who had two assists in six NHL games in October, was recalled from Toronto of the American Hockey League and will play for the Maple Leafs, 0-2-1 in their past three games after going 9-0-1 in their previous 10.
The Devils will try to win three straight games for the second time this season; they have won consecutive games after going 0-2-1 in their previous three.

Players to watch

Devils forward Travis Zajac has four points (one goal, three assists) in a three-game point streak.
Maple Leafs forward Mitchell Marner has 26 points (nine goals, 17 assists) in his past 16 games.

They said it

"We're playing some of the best teams in the League here and I think it's a great test for us as a group. We have guys trying to gain experience and the best way to do that is to get up for these big games and see how you measure up." -- Devils defenseman P.K. Subban
"It's a good chance for us to get better as a team. … We want to be an elite team and we believe we are an elite team and have the ability to take big steps as a group. It's a really good opportunity for us individually and collectively to do just that." -- Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe on being without Rielly for at least eight weeks

Devils projected lineup

Pavel Zacha -- Nico Hischier -- Jesper Bratt
Blake Coleman -- Travis Zajac -- Nikita Gusev
Miles Wood -- Jack Hughes -- Wayne Simmonds
Jesper Boqvist -- Kevin Rooney -- John Hayden
Andy Greene -- P.K. Subban
Damon Severson -- Sami Vatanen
Will Butcher -- Connor Carrick
Louis Domingue
Cory Schneider
Scratched:Mirco Mueller
Injured: Ben Street (upper body), Kyle Palmieri (lower body), Mackenzie Blackwood (upper body)

Maple Leafs projected lineup

Zach Hyman -- Auston Matthews -- Mitchell Marner
Alex Kerfoot -- John Tavares -- William Nylander
Andreas Johnsson -- Pierre Engvall -- Kasperi Kapanen
Jason Spezza --
Adam Brooks
-- Frederik Gauthier
Martin Marincin -- Tyson Barrie
Travis Dermott -- Justin Holl
Rasmus Sandin -- Cody Ceci
Frederik Andersen
Michael Hutchinson
Scratched: Dmytro Timashov, Mason Marchment , Timothy Liljegren
Injured: Trevor Moore (concussion), Ilya Mikheyev (wrist laceration), Jake Muzzin (foot), Morgan Rielly (fractured foot)

Status report

Neither Palmieri, a forward, or Blackwood, a goalie, travelled with the Devils to Toronto. Coach Alain Nasreddine said their returns are "up in the air" right now, though he said Palmieri's injury is not expected to be long-term. … The Maple Leafs recalled Liljegren, a defenseman, from Toronto of the American Hockey League on Tuesday.

Stat pack

Hischier has four points (three goals, one assist) in his past four games. … Spezza will play his 1,100th NHL game.