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Toronto Maple Leafs Game Preview: Not So Hot New Jersey Devils Against Red Hot Toronto Maple Leafs

By David Morassutti

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Toronto Maple Leafs Game Preview: Not So Hot New Jersey Devils Against Red Hot Toronto Maple Leafs

We have all waited patiently and now it is time to drop the puck on a new season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Here at the Tip of the Tower we strive to give you as much content on your Toronto sports teams as humanly possible. This series will preview every single Toronto Maple Leafs game and what you should know for the game that night.

Jan 12, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Tyler Bozak (42) faces off against New Jersey Devils center Adam Henrique (14) at Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Devils 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

New Jersey Devils (9-12-4) @ Toronto Maple Leafs (12-8-3), 7:30 p.m., TSN

The Leafs went 2-1 against the Devils last year.

More from Tip of the Tower

Leafs Injury Report

Brandon Kozun is out with a high ankle sprain.

Roman Polak is out with a knee injury.

Leo Komarov is questionable with an upper-body injury.

Projected Line Combinations (Leafs)

Devils Injury Report

Martin Havlat questionable with a lower-body injury
Travis Zajac out with a lower-body injury
Bryce Salvador out with a lower-body injury
Ryan Clowe out with an upper-body injury
Jaromir Jagr doubtful with an upper-body injury
Patrik Elias questionable with an upper-body injury
Stephen Gionta questionable with a lower-body injury

Line Combinations (Devils)

Game Preview

Dec 2, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward David Booth (20) shoots the puck against Dallas Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen (32) during the first period at the Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Two weeks ago everyone in Toronto was wondering if Randy Carlyle would still be coach and who was going to be traded out-of-town. Now the Leafs have won four out of the last five games by a margin of 23-12.  It is not all perfect in Leaf land however with many people pointing out the defensive issues that are still evident with the team. The Leafs are being outshot 158-139 in their last five games and are possessing the puck 46 per cent of the time. Luckily the team is realizing that things have to change but the question remains, is this team capable of change? Can they do it consistently? For now the team will take the wins but something has to change, either tweaks have to be made to the system, certain players have to be better or Dave Nonis has to make some moves.

Dec 2, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; New Jersey Devils goalie Cory Schneider (35) makes a save against Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Jayson Megna (59) during the second period at the CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The good thing for the Leafs is that their opponent is going through their own problems as of late. The list goes on for the Devils; they had Cory Schneider start 20 straight games because they really had no one else, their penalty kill is ranked 27th in the league at 75.3 percent and their offence is ranked 25th in the league. Luckily Schneider has kept them from being one of the worst teams in the league but looks like it is getting worse for the Devils. Their injury report is extensive, not only do they have a lot of players out because of injuries, but they have significant players out at the moment. Jagr, Elias and Gionta left their last game against the Pittsburgh Penguins early because of injuries, as a result they brought back Scott Gomez.

Nov 29, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Tyler Bozak (42) skates with the puck against the Washington Capitals at Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs won 6-2. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

In my last article I got some comments about what I wrote about Tyler Bozak which I had no problems with I encourage it. He kept his hot streak going with what was going to be his 12th goal of the season but it was credited to JVR instead. What I want to see is how long can he keep it up and are there other parts of his game that will get better. The Leafs are still getting outshot and out possessed, and one reason is because their top line does not drive the team to be a better possession team. Phil Kessel‘s Fenwick percentage is the best out of the three with 48.7 percent, Bozak is at 47.4 percent, and James van Riemsdyk is at 44.6 percent (he does play a lot on the penalty kill which explains the low numbers). If the Leafs want to become a more dominant team in terms of possession and dominate with their play with or without the puck then the top line has to be more determined to get better. It is getting better but we all know that there is always room for improvement.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Nov 8, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel (81) scores on New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider (35) during the third period at the Air Canada Centre. Toronto defeated New Jersey 2-1 in an overtime shoot out. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Phil Kessel career vs NJ: 29 GP – 10  goals – 17 assist – 27 PTS
James van Riemsdyk career vs NJ: 18 GP- 7 goals- 5 assists- 12 PTS
Cody Franson career vs NJ: 10 GP- 0 goals- 7 assists- 7 PTS
Jonathan Bernier career vs DAL: 3 GP – Record: 2-1  1.89 GAA – .938 SV%
James Reimer career vs NJ:8 GP- Record: 4-2-2 2.35 GAA- .927 SV%

New Jersey Devils

Nov 25, 2014; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler (23) and goaltender Ryan Miller (30) defend against New Jersey Devils forward Mike Cammalleri (23) during the third period at Rogers Arena.The Vancouver Canucks won 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Cammalleri career vs TOR: 17 GP- 4 goals- 6 assists- 10 PTS
Patrik Elias career vs TOR: 52 GP- 15 goals- 18 assists- 33 PTS
Tuomo Ruutu career vs TOR: 23 GP- 5 goals- 12 assists- 17 PTS
Jaromir Jagr career vs TOR: 51 GP- 31 goals- 42 assists- 73 PTS
Cory Schneider career vs TOR: 3 GP: Record 1-0-2 1.58 GAA- .934 SV%

Keys to Victory for Toronto

Nov 8, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel (81) takes a shot on New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider (35) as Maple Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul (19) waits for a rebound during the first period at the Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

If there is one player that the Leafs should be worried about on the Devils it is the man between-the-pipes. The Leafs have had some difficulty getting goals past Schneider, although he has a losing record to the Leafs he has never lost in regulation which should be a concern for the Leafs. However the Devils have not been as great defensively as they have been in the past.

If the Leafs want to show that they are worthy of being a top offensive team in the NHL they have a chance to prove it against a great goaltender. If they get great chances on the power play they have to take advantage of the fact that the Devils are not that great on the penalty kill.

The Devils are not a highly skilled team with no elite front end talent. If Jagr does not play against the Leafs which I suspect he will not then it should be a relatively easy night for the defence but then again anything can surprise me.

Dec 2, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Dallas Stars forward Antoine Roussel (21) shoots the puck against Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Jonathan Bernier (45) at the Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs won 5-3. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Leafs have been able to take advantage of poorer teams in the league. This is a good opportunity for the Leafs to show that they are not all talk and they can make the adjustments in order to become a better two-way team. The top line needs to drive possession by keeping the puck and cycling it in the offensive zone more frequently. The defence has to avoid making the same mistakes in their own end, Jake Gardiner made a bad play on the first Dallas goal where he left the player wide open in front of the net. Their has to be better awareness in their own end and they need to make the easy play to get out of their own end. If the offence can play like they have in their last few games and they get decent goaltending (Reimer might get the start) then the Leafs should win. If Reimer does start then the Leafs cannot change the way they have played give your goaltender a chance to win.

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