NHL Game of the Week: New Jersey Devils vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
On Thursday, Nov. 17, the New Jersey Devils are set to go head-to-head with the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
The New Jersey Devils are on absolute fire as they have been bullying the league on their current ten game winning streak. The Devils are currently first place in the Metropolitan Division and second in the entire National Hockey League with a record of 13-3-0.
For the Devils, everything has been clicking in all of the right places, especially on defense and goaltending.
John Marino, who was traded to the Devils from the Pittsburgh Penguins, has been arguably New Jersey’s best defenseman. The 25-year-old currently has eight points and an outstanding +9 rating.
The one big scare that the Devils had was when goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood went down with a knee injury in a game against the Edmonton Oilers and is now on injury reserve for three to six weeks.
Fortunately New Jersey found a hidden gem in goaltender Vitek Vanacek, who they acquired from a trade with the Washington Capitals.
Ever since Vanacek came into the game against Edmonton, he has been an absolute brick wall for the Devils. This season, the Czech goaltender is 7-1-0 with a .915 save percentage and 2.17 goals-against average.
For the Toronto Maple Leafs they have also been a very strong team with a record of 9-5-3 and winning four of their last six games. The Maple Leafs are currently second in the Atlantic Division and sixth in the NHL.
Toronto always is a team that should never be messed with, especially with the fire power they hold with players such as Auston Matthews and William Nylander, who have seventeen points on the season. Team captain John Tavares has tallied eighteen thus far.
The main question for the Maple Leafs lies between the posts.
For Toronto ,the time has been shared between Ilya Samsonov and Erik Kallgren. Samsonov is currently 8-6-2 with a .921 save percentage and 2.23 goals-against average while Kallgren is posting up a record of 8-7-2 with a .893 save percentage and 2.86 goals-against average.
Recently the Toronto Maple Leafs have also taken some major injuries to their defense.
TJ Brodie is currently on injury reserve with an oblique injury that will be a minimum of two week recovery time, and defenseman Jake Muzzin who is out indefinitely with a cervical spine injury.
Nonetheless, this is going to be a fantastic matchup to watch between two current powerhouse teams in the NHL and will certainly gain a lot of viewers.
It is a very exciting time to be a fan of either of these teams as this will be a great test for both sides to see which players rise to the occasion.
These two teams will meet again six days later for another matchup but this time in Newark, New Jersey, on Nov. 23, at the Prudential Center.
Chris Machado is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email cvm6238@psu.edu.
