In the maple leafs vs devils matchup, Toronto carries a four-game losing streak into Newark for a Wednesday 7 p. m. ET meeting against a 30-29-2 New Jersey club. Projected deployments, scratches and a season-ending surgery headline a game that pairs divergent recent form with familiar names up front.
Maple Leafs Vs Devils: Projected lineups and key absences
Projected forward lines and roster notes for both teams show how depth decisions and injuries will affect matchups:
Toronto projected forwards: Matthew Knies — Auston Matthews — William Nylander; Matias Maccelli — John Tavares — Max Domi; Easton Cowan — Nicolas Roy — Dakota Joshua; Nicholas Robertson — Calle Jarnkrok — Steven Lorentz. Scratched for roster management: Scott Laughton, Bobby McMann, Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Injured: Chris Tanev (groin), Dakota Mermis (lower body).
New Jersey projected forwards: Timo Meier — Nico Hischier — Dawson Mercer; Arseny Gritsyuk — Jack Hughes — Connor Brown; Jesper Bratt — Cody Glass — Lenni Hameenaho; Paul Cotter — Nick Bjugstad — Maxim Tsyplakov. Scratched: Evgenii Dadonov, Luke Glendening, Colton White, Johnathan Kovacevic. Injured: Stefan Noesen (knee), Zack MacEwen (ACL).
Additional roster notes: For Toronto, forwards Laughton and McMann and defenseman Ekman-Larsson will not dress for roster-management purposes. Nicholas Robertson, Calle Jarnkrok and Chris Stecher are expected in the lineup. Chris Tanev underwent core muscle surgery and will be out for the remainder of the season. New Jersey did not hold a morning skate after a 5-1 win against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.
Can Toronto stop the slide? Records, recent form and implications
Verified facts: Toronto enters this meeting at 27-24-10 overall with an 11-14-3 road record and a -15 scoring differential (194 goals for, 209 goals against). New Jersey is 30-29-2 overall and 14-13-2 at home. The teams meet for the third time this season; the Maple Leafs won the most recent matchup 4-0. In their last 10 games, the Devils are 3-7-0, averaging two goals and conceding 2. 3 per game. The Maple Leafs are 3-6-1 over their last 10, averaging 2. 5 goals while allowing 3. 3 per game. Individual production pockets: Jack Hughes has 12 goals and 29 assists; Dougie Hamilton has four goals and four assists over his past 10 games; Auston Matthews has 26 goals and 24 assists; William Nylander has four goals and six assists over his past 10 games.
Informed analysis: The available lineups and injury list indicate New Jersey keeps a top-end attack centered on Nico Hischier and Timo Meier, while Toronto still stacks Auston Matthews with Matthew Knies and William Nylander. Toronto’s -15 goal differential and recent defensive concessions suggest the club must tighten its gap control to halt the four-game slide. New Jersey’s stronger record when scoring three or more goals and the decision to skip a morning skate after a decisive win point to a club leaning on momentum and rotation to preserve form.
What to watch at puck drop: Matchup minutes for Matthews versus New Jersey’s leading forwards, whether Toronto’s scratched depth forwards are missed in board play, and the ice-time distribution following Chris Tanev’s surgery absence. The maple leafs vs devils game will pivot on whether Toronto can convert individual scoring chances into multi-goal results and whether New Jersey sustains the offensive output that has kept its record near. 500.
Verified facts are drawn from team-provided projected lineups, injury designations and stated records; the analysis above separates inference from those verified details.
