The Leafs will take on the New Jersey Devils at home on Thursday night and then travel to Montreal to take on the Canadiens, who could still be without goaltender Carey Price. The Leafs will have a chance to get some more points and try to stay on pace with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division.
The Leafs will need to find a way to stop the balanced lineup of the Devils since they have five regulars in the lineup with 10 or more points. Toronto will need to limit their mistakes and spend a good amount of time in the offensive zone. The Maple Leafs can spend a lot of time in the offensive zone by having a good forecheck game, getting the cycle game going and moving the puck quickly and crisply. The Leafs need to find a way to stop Taylor Hall and Will Butcher, who have been the top scoring forward and defenseman for the Devils this year. Toronto will need to figure out a way to get the puck into the back of the net since the goalies have been good this year for New Jersey. They will want to get traffic in front, deflect some pucks, be in the slot for rebounds and work from behind the net.
New Jersey will want to get the first goal of the game and make the Leafs come from behind. The Devils will want to find a way to stop Nazem Kadri and Morgan Rielly, who are both having decent seasons so far. If the Devils get down ten they need to keep attacking because the Leafs will give up some goals when they have the lead. New Jersey just needs to get pucks on net since the goaltending has been a bit shaky for the Leafs. The Devils will need to make sure that they have the lead entering the final period of the game.
The Maple Leafs will have an opportunity to pick up an important two points within the division on Saturday night. They have played okay on the road, but have played much better at home. Toronto will need to get pucks on net especially if Carey Price is still out injured for the Habs, or just coming off of injury. The Leafs need to get the first goal of the game and start putting doubts in the minds of the Habs players, and that also goes into getting off to a fast start. Toronto will need to play a solid, defensive 60 minute road game and that might not happen since the defense hasn't been great all season. The Leafs need to find a way to stop Jonathan Drouin and Shea Weber.
The Canadiens will need to get pucks on net to generate chances and make sure that players are in position for second chance opportunities. Montreal will need to get the lead and keep attacking because if they sit back or start making mistakes then the Leafs will make them pay by using their speed to score goals. The Habs will need to get off to a better start in this game then they have in other games this year since they have been outscored handily in first periods of games. Montreal will need to find a way to contain James van Riemsdyk and Patrick Marleau, who have been able to produce points at a decent rate this year. The defense of the Canadiens are going to need to be in good position, and the gap control will need to be good between the forwards and defense so the Leafs can't force too many turnovers.
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