TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (40-18-5 – 85 Points) vs. NEW JERSEY DEVILS (23-36-5 – 51 Points) WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 2022 1 2 3 FINAL NEW JERSEY 0 2 0 2 TORONTO 0 2 1 3 SCORING NOTES
Ilya Mikheyev scored shorthanded for Toronto at 12:30 of the second period. Mikheyev recorded his 13th goal of the season.
Mitch Marner scored for the Maple Leafs at 14:54 of the second period. Marner posted his 27th goal of the season. Marner has recorded seven points (4G, 3A) through his last four games.
Pierre Engvall scored shorthanded for Toronto at 15:18 of third period. Engvall posted his 11th goal of the season.
Alexander Kerfoot posted the primary assist on Mikheyev’s shorthanded goal. Kerfoot registered his 35th assist of the season.
Auston Matthews recorded the primary assist on Marner’s goal. Matthews posted his 34th assist of the season. Matthews has posted 12 points (9G, 3A) through his last seven games.
Michael Bunting registered the secondary assist on Marner’s goal. Bunting recorded his 29th assist of the season. Bunting has recorded an assist in back-to-back games. GOALTENDER NOTES
Petr Mrázek stopped 20 of 22 shots in tonight’s win. SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
The Maple Leafs were 0-for-3 on the power play and 1-for-4 on the penalty kill tonight.
Ilya Mikheyev scored his third shorthanded goal of the season and fourth of his NHL career.
Pierre Engvall scored his first shorthanded goal of the season and second of his NHL career.
With Engvall’s shorthanded goal, Toronto improved to a league-leading 10 shorthanded goals on the season. OF NOTE…
With his 27th goal of the season scored during tonight’s game, Mitch Marner set a new career-high in goals.
With his assist on Marner’s second period goal, Auston Matthews tied a career-high in points with his 80th of the season (46G, 34A).
Per NHL Stats, Auston Matthews became the eighth player to record multiple 80-point seasons with Toronto, and first since Phil Kessel posted his second in 2013-14 (also 2011-12).
Colin Blackwell tied a season-high four hits during tonight’s game.
Mark Giordano and Colin Blackwell made their debut with the Maple Leafs during tonight’s game.
TJ Brodie was on the ice for a team-high 22 Toronto shot attempts-for at 5-on-5.
Jason Spezza finished the game with a team-high 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 69.23 percent (9 for, 4 against). SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets) 1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL NEW JERSEY 3 (3) 11 (6) 8 (6) 22 (15) TORONTO 11 (11) 11 (10) 9 (5) 31 (26) SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets) 1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL NEW JERSEY 11 (11) 22 (16) 18 (13) 51 (40) TORONTO 21 (21) 16 (13) 14 (9) 51 (43) ON HOME ICE
The Maple Leafs are 23-7-2 at home this season.
Toronto’s all-time record is 78-41-20-9 in 148 games against the New Jersey Devils and 50-17-5-4 in 76 games played in Toronto.
Toronto is 22-9-2 against the Eastern Conference this season and 13-4-2 against the Metropolitan Division this season. RECORD WHEN…
Toronto is 13-13-3 when the opponent scores the first goal of the game.
The Maple Leafs are 11-7-0 when tied after one period and 7-3-2 when tied after two periods.
Toronto is 24-12-4 when outshooting their opponent.
The Maple Leafs are 8-3-0 in Wednesday games. MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS Shots 4 (Spezza, Bunting, Nylander) Shot Attempts 6 (Bunting, Nylander) Face-off Wins 13 (Matthews, Tavares) Face-off Win Percentage 76% (Tavares – 13 won, 4 lost) Hits 4 (Blackwell, Lyubushkin) Blocked Shots 2 (Kerfoot, Marner, Matthews, Liljegren, Rielly, Giordano, Brodie) Takeaways 2 (Matthews) TOI 23:10 (Marner) Power Play TOI 4:27 (Matthews) Shorthanded TOI 3:18 (Brodie) Shifts 27 (Marner, Brodie) 5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage 69.23% (Spezza – 9 for, 4 against) UPCOMING GAMES: March 26 Leafs at Montreal Bell Centre 7:00 pm ET March 27 Leafs vs. Florida Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET March 29 Leafs at Boston TD Garden 7:00 pm ET March 31 Leafs vs. Winnipeg Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET April 2 Leafs at Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center 7:00 pm ET April 4 Leafs at Tampa Bay Amalie Arena 7:30 pm ET Stats reflect official NHL stats at the time of distribution. Please consult official NHL game sheets (links above) to confirm no statistical changes were made. For Maple Leafs notes, transcripts, audio clips and media guides, please visit MapleLeafs.com/pressbox. POSTGAME QUOTES: HEAD COACH SHELDON KEEFE On Petr Mrázek’s play tonight: “I thought he looked really good. I thought he looked calm and confident. Tough game you know you only get a few shots in that first period, not a lot of work and the couple of shots he got were tough saves there. Then all of a sudden in the second period things turned and there were a lot more really good looks for them that I thought he looked good, that was a great step for him.” On Mark Giordano’s comfort level in his debut: “You talk about his comfort level, my comfort level was high. When he was out there and the puck was on his stick things seemed to settle down and you could just tell he’s a veteran. He knows how to play. Despite coming in new teammates, new city, new system, all those kind of things he’s just confident and moving pucks, defending, getting in people’s way so I really liked his play tonight.
2021-22 Matchups vs. New Jersey: Third of Three 2021-22 Record vs. New Jersey: 2-0-0 Toronto Season Record: 39-18-5 Toronto Home Record: 22-7-2 TV: Sportsnet RADIO: TSN 1050
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
March 20, 2022 Toronto acquired defenceman Mark Giordano and forward Colin Blackwell from the Seattle Kraken in exchange for three draft selections. March 10, 2022 Goaltender Erik Källgren has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies (AHL) on an emergency basis.
LAST GAME Score: Toronto 3 at Nashville 6 Date: Saturday, March 19, 2022 TOR Goals: Marner (2x), Matthews NSH Goals: Jeannot, Tolvanen, Ekholm, Forsberg, Duchene, Trenin TOR Goaltender: Källgren, 28/33, .848 SV% NSH Goaltender: Saros, 38/41, .927 SV% TOR Power Play: 0-for-3 TOR Penalty Kill: 3-for-4 Team Notes:
With his 26th goal of the season scored on Saturday, Mitch Marner tied an NHL career-high in goals.
With his 46th goal of the season, Auston Matthews is now one goal away from tying an NHL career-high in goals.
Auston Matthews recorded 10 shots during Saturday’s game, posting an NHL career second-best.
NEXT GAME Date: Saturday, March 26, 2022 Opponent: at Montréal Canadiens Time: 7:00 pm ET Broadcast Information: Sportsnet (TV), TSN 1050 (Radio)
First Matchup between Clubs: October 9, 1974 (Toronto 6 vs. Kansas City 2) All-Time Record: 77-41-20-9 (147 Games) All-Time Record at Home: 49-17-5-4 (75 Games) All-Time Record on the Road: 28-24-15-5 (72 Games) Last Home Win vs. Opponent: January 31, 2022 (Toronto 6 vs. New Jersey 4) Record in Last Five Games: 5-0-0 Record in Last 10 Games: 8-2-0
ACTIVE LEADERS VS. NEW JERSEY DEVILS: Games Played: Jason Spezza (44), John Tavares (44), Wayne Simmonds (41) Goals: John Tavares (19), Wayne Simmonds (13), Auston Matthews (12) Assists: Jason Spezza (28), John Tavares (18), Mitch Marner (9), Wayne Simmonds (9), Mark Giordano (9) Points: John Tavares (38), Jason Spezza (37), Wayne Simmonds (22) Penalty Minutes Wayne Simmonds (103), Jason Spezza (20), John Tavares (16)
2021-22 AVERAGES AND RANKINGS Points % GF/Game GA/Game PP% PK% SF/G SA/G FO% Toronto .669 3.66 3.03 28.8% 84.6% 34.6 31.0 55.7% New Jersey .405 3.06 3.59 18.0% 80.6% 32.1 31.2 47.4%
THE MAN ADVANTAGE IN 2021-22 Power Play: 47/163 (28.8%) Power Play Goal Leader: 13 – Matthews Power Play Point Leader: 23 – Matthews (13G, 10A) 2020-21 Power Play: 31/155 (20.0%)
ON THE PK IN 2021-22 Penalty Kill: 148/175 (84.6%) Shorthanded Goal Leader: 2 – Kämpf, Marner, Mikheyev Shorthanded Point Leader: 4 – Kämpf (2G, 2A) 2020-21 Penalty Kill: 113/144 (78.5%) FAST FACTS
Wednesday games 11th of 11 (6 home, 5 road) Back-to-Backs played 9 of 13 Record in first game of back-to-back 5-3-1 Record in second game of back-to-back 4-4-1 March games 10th of 14 (9 home, 5 road)
UPCOMING MILESTONES David Kämpf Three games away from 300 career NHL games played Ilya Lyubushkin Seven games away from 200 career NHL games played Mitch Marner Three assists away from 300 career NHL assists Auston Matthews Nine games away from 400 career NHL games played Petr Mrázek Eight games away from 300 career NHL games played William Nylander Five assists away from 200 career NHL assists Jason Spezza 10 points away from 1,000 career NHL points John Tavares Seven assists away from 500 career NHL assists
RECENT MILESTONES TJ Brodie Recorded his 300th career NHL point, March 13, 2022 at BUF Ondrej Kaše Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Alexander Kerfoot Appeared in his 300th career NHL game, Nov. 26, 2021 at SJS Alexander Kerfoot Recorded his 100th career NHL assist, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT Timothy Liljegren Scored his first career NHL goal, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL Auston Matthews Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Jan. 31, 2022 vs. NJD Mitch Marner Skated in his 400th career NHL game, March 4, 2022 vs. BUF Mitch Marner Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Feb. 14, 2022 at SEA Ilya Mikheyev Skated in his 100th career NHL game, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL William Nylander Skated in his 400th career NHL game, Feb. 1, 2022 at NJD William Nylander Recorded his 300th career NHL point, Jan. 19, 2022 at NYR Wayne Simmonds Skated in his 1,000th career NHL game, March 5, 2022 vs. VAN Jason Spezza Skated in his 1,200th career NHL game, Nov. 28, 2021 at ANA John Tavares Skated in his 900th career NHL game, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT
2021-22 Matchups vs. New Jersey: Second of Three Next Game vs. New Jersey: Wednesday, March 23 vs. New Jersey Toronto Season Record: 28-10-3 Toronto Road Record: 12-6-2 TV: TSN4 RADIO: Sportsnet 590
RECENT TRANSACTIONS January 28, 2022 Defenceman Carl Dahlstrom has been assigned to the Maple Leafs taxi squad from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). January 28, 2022 Defenceman Alex Biega has been reassigned to the Marlies from the Maple Leafs taxi squad. January 24, 2022 Forward Joey Anderson, defenceman Carl Dahlstrom and goaltender Erik Kallgren have be reassigned to the Toronto Marlies (AHL) from the Maple Leafs taxi squad. January 22, 2022 Goaltender Erik Kallgren has been reassigned to the Maple Leafs taxi squad from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). Score: Toronto 6 vs. New Jersey 4
LAST GAME Date: Monday, January 31, 2022 TOR Goals: Matthews (3x), Spezza, Marner, Mikheyev NJD Goals: Zacha, Boqvist, Johnsson, Bastian TOR Goaltender: Campbell, 6/9, .667 SV% – Mrazek, 19/20, .950 SV% NJD Goaltender: Schmid, 27/32, .844 SV% TOR Power Play: 1-for-3 TOR Penalty Kill: 3-for-3
NEXT GAME Date: Monday, February 7, 2022 Opponent: vs. Carolina Hurricanes Time: 7:00 pm ET Broadcast Information: Sportsnet (TV), TSN 1050 (Radio)
INJURY REPORT Jake Muzzin Concussion
ALL-TIME VS. NEW JERSEY DEVILS: First Matchup between Clubs: October 9, 1974 (Toronto 6 vs. Kansas City 2) All-Time Record: 76-41-20-9 (146 Games) All-Time Record at Home: 49-17-5-4 (75 Games) All-Time Record on the Road: 27-24-15-5 (71 Games) Last Road Win vs. Opponent: December 27, 2019 (Toronto 5 at New Jersey 4 – OTW) Record in Last Five Games: 5-0-0
ACTIVE LEADERS VS. NEW JERSEY DEVILS: Games Played: Jason Spezza (43), John Tavares (43), Wayne Simmonds (40) Goals: John Tavares (19), Wayne Simmonds (13), Auston Matthews (11) Assists: Jason Spezza (28), John Tavares (18), Wayne Simmonds (8) Points: John Tavares (37), Jason Spezza (37), Wayne Simmonds (21) Penalty Minutes: Wayne Simmonds (101), Jason Spezza (20), John Tavares (16)
2021-22 AVERAGES AND RANKINGS Points % GF/Game GA/Game PP% PK% SF/G SA/G FO% Toronto .720 3.51 2.68 31.0% 83.9% 34.2 30.7 55.9% New Jersey .398 2.82 3.46 16.7% 81.7% 31.6 30.5 47.3%
THE MAN ADVANTAGE IN 2021-22 Power Play: 36/116 (31.0%) Power Play Goal Leader: 10 – Matthews Power Play Point Leader: 19 – Matthews (10G, 9A) 2020-21 Power Play: 31/155 (20.0%)
ON THE PK IN 2021-22 Penalty Kill: 94/112 (83.9%) Shorthanded Goal Leader: 2 – Marner, Mikheyev Shorthanded Point Leader: 2 – Marner (2G), Mikheyev (2G), Brodie (2A), Kerfoot (2A) 2020-21 Penalty Kill: 113/144 (78.5%)
FAST FACTS Tuesday games 6th of 14 (8 home, 6 road) Back-to-Backs played 6 of 13 Record in first game of back-to-back 4-2-1 Record in second game of back-to-back 2-4-0 February games 1st of 12 (4 home, 8 road) UPCOMING MILESTONES
TJ Brodie Nine points away from 300 career NHL points Jake Muzzin 10 points away from 300 career NHL points William Nylander One game away from 400 career NHL games played
RECENT MILESTONES TJ Brodie Appeared in his 700th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK TJ Brodie Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 14, 2021 at EDM Jack Campbell Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 16, 2021 vs. NSH Pierre Engvall Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK Ondrej Kaše Recorded his 100th career NHL point, Nov. 10, 2021 at PHI Ondrej Kaše Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Alexander Kerfoot Appeared in his 300th career NHL game, Nov. 26, 2021 at SJS Alexander Kerfoot Recorded his 100th career NHL assist, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT Timothy Liljegren Scored his first career NHL goal, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL Auston Matthews Recorded his 400th career NHL point, Jan. 31, 2022 vs. NJD Auston Matthews Recorded his 200th career NHL goal, Oct. 25, 2021 at CAR Ilya Mikheyev Skated in his 100th career NHL game, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL William Nylander Recorded his 300th career NHL point, Jan. 19, 2022 at NYR Morgan Rielly Recorded his 250th career NHL assist, Oct. 27, 2021 at CHI Morgan Rielly Skated in his 600th career NHL game, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Wayne Simmonds Skated in his 950th career NHL game, Oct. 16, 2021 vs. OTT Jason Spezza Skated in his 1,200th career NHL game, Nov. 28, 2021 at ANA John Tavares Recorded his 200th point with the Maple Leafs, Oct. 18, 2021 vs. NYR John Tavares Scored his 100th goal with the Maple Leafs, Nov. 13, 2021 at BUF John Tavares Skated in his 900th career NHL game, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT
Jan. 17: Janne Kuokkanen, Mason Geertsen & Mackenzie Blackwood removed from COVID protocol
Jan. 19:Colton White placed on waivers – intent for Taxi Squad (AHL)
Jan. 20:Colton White cleared waivers
Jan. 22: Ty Smith placed on Injured Reserve (upper-body Inj.)
Colton White recalled from Taxi Squad
Jan. 24: A.J. Greer activated off I.R. & reassigned to Utica (AHL)
Jan. 25: Mackenzie Blackwood placed on I.R.
Akira Schmid recalled from Utica (AHL)
Jan. 27: Ty Smith activated off I.R.
Michael McLeod placed on I.R. (Upper-body Inj.)
TONIGHT’S GAME VS TORONTO
The Devils host Toronto for the first time this season, which also marks the second game of a home-at-home, back-to-back set against the Leafs for 2021-22.
Tonight’s Eastern Conference affair marks the first time that the Devils experience a home-at-home, back-to-back set this season.
New Jersey & Columbus played a home-at-home set on Jan. 6th & Jan. 8th, but it was not a back-to-back set with games played on consecutive days.
The last time that the Devils defeated Toronto was Apr. 5th, 2018, in a 2-1 win at Prudential Center. Jersey’s team is 2-5-2 vs the Leafs since the start of the 2017-18 season.
Jersey’s team suffered its second loss (11-2-0) when scoring four-or-more goals in a game for 2021-22, after Monday’s defeat (last: Dec. 3rd at WPG, 8-4, L).
The Devils logged a 3-9-0 record for January.
Season-series record: 0-1-0…Tonight’s game marks the second of three matchups vs the Leafs.
The Devils’ record on Tuesdays: 2-6-0…2-3-0 at home
Record vs Eastern Conference: 11-13-3 & Record vs Atlantic Division: 4-6-1
Next game vs TOR: Mar. 23, NJD at TOR, 7:00 P.M. E.T.
New Jersey will face-off with all 31 NHL teams for the 2021-22 campaign and its regular season concludes on Apr. 29 at Prudential Center vs Detroit.
The Devils netted a goal less than 1:00 into a contest for the fourth time this season, after Pavel Zacha opened the scoring 0:47 into Monday night’s game.
Zacha’s 11th tally marked the team’s third fastest goal to start a game this season, while the fastest was Dougie Hamilton’s season-opening goal at 0:17. (Oct. 15th, vs CHI, 4-2 OT-W).
New Jersey surrendered its eighth shorthanded goal for the season on Monday, which is the most allowed in the NHL (Los Angeles, 7).
On Thursday, Jan. 27th, the Devils faced their second penalty shot for 2021-22 & Jersey’s second penalty shot faced at Tampa for the season. The Devils’ first penalty shot against this season was on Nov. 20th, 2021, at Tampa.
Mackenzie Blackwood denied Brayden Point on Nov. 20th, & Jon Gillies turned away Anthony Cirelli’s penalty shot attempt on Thursday.
It marked the first time in franchise history that the Devils witnessed multiple penalty shots against (them) at the same visiting arena in a single season.
Only one other team has earned more than one penalty shot against the Devils in the same season, which was Columbus on March 19th, 2017, at Prudential Center.
The Blue Jackets earned two penalty shots in that game and converted on both vs Cory Schneider (B. Dubinsky & L. Sedlak).
All-time record vs TOR: 50-64-20-12
All-time home record vs TOR: 29-22-15-5
Patrik Elias is New Jersey’s all-time leading scorer vs Toronto (17g-22a-39 PTS).
Hockey Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur (22-20-7-3) is New Jersey’s all-time wins leader vs the Leafs.
*After the passing of Devils Head Coach Lindy Ruff’s father, Leeson Ruff, on Jan. 28th, New Jersey’s Assistant coach Alain Nasreddine manned the team’s bench for the fourth time on Monday & will again on Tuesday.
* On Tuesday, the Devils announced a multi-year partnership with Jackpocket, the leading lottery app in the U.S. to provide a secure way to order official state lottery tickets. With this partnership, the company becomes the Devils Official Lottery Courier Partner (see more details at devils.nhl.com).
*The NHL announced “a comprehensive update to the 2021-22 regular-season schedule, one that will enable all 32 teams to complete their respective 82-game slates by the regular season’s original closing date of Friday, April 29.”
The Devils have eight contests re-scheduled overall – involving postponements, flipping of games and date changes of future matchups (See Devils.nhl.com for more details).
*Jack Hughes was named New Jersey’s 2022 NHL All-Star. The game is in Vegas on Saturday, Feb. 5th. He’ll become the fourth player in franchise history who earned the honor before turning 21-years-old (Kirk Muller, Joe Cirella & Scott Gomez), per NHL Pr.
*Defenseman Dougie Hamilton received surgery on his jaw on Jan. 5th, & there is no official timetable on his return, but he did practice on Wednesday & traveled with the team.
* NHL Pr announced that Devils forward Jack Hughes was named one of the league’s “Three Stars” of the week (second star) for the week ending Jan. 2.
MUTUAL CONNECTIONS
Toronto’s President & Alternate Governor Brendan Shanahan was New Jersey’s 2nd-overall draft-pick in the 1987 NHL Draft. Shanahan spent his first four NHL seasons with the Devils from 1987-88 to 1990-91 (94g-134a-228 PTS, 315 GP).
Maple Leafs forward Wayne Simmonds skated in 61 games with the Devils in 2019-20 prior being traded to Buffalo.
New Jersey forward Andreas Johnsson was Toronto’s 7th-round draft-pick, 202nd overall, in the 2013 NHL Draft. Johnsson spent parts of three seasons with the Leafs from 2017-18 to 2019-20, while collecting 67 PTS (30g-37a) in 125 GP.
LAST TRADE
The last time the Devils and Toronto executed a trade was Oct. 10th, 2020, when the Devils acquired Andreas Johnsson in exchange for Joey Anderson.
DID YOU KNOW
The Devils eliminated the Maple Leafs in consecutive postseasons in 1999-00 & 2000-01. New Jersey eliminated the Leafs in six games in 2000 & then seven games in 2001 – both matchups were in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.
Jesper Boqvist earned his second goal for the 2021-22 campaign and in consecutive games, after Monday’s contest vs Toronto.
While the Swedish native earned his first-career multi-point effort (1g-1a), it was also the fourth time in his career that Boqvist logged points in consecutive games played (last: Apr. 8th to Apr. 9th, 2021, 2g-0a-2 PTS, 2 GP).
Boqvist’s multi-point outing also tied a career-high for points in a season 7 PTS (2g-5a), which was prior earned in 2020-21 (4g-3a-7 PTS).
Andreas Johnsson netted his first goal against his former team since the forward was acquired via trade from Toronto on Oct. 10th, 2020.
Nate Bastian earned a career-high with 11 PTS (9g-2a) in a season on Monday. Bastian’s prior career-high for points in a season was 10 PTS (3g-7a) in 2020-21.
Janne Kuokkanen earned an assist on Boqvist’s goal, which marked the second time this season that the winger recorded at least one point in consecutive games (last: Dec. 31st, 2021 to Jan. 2nd, 2022, 1g-1a-2 PTS).
On Monday, blueliner Ryan Graves earned his first point since logging a career-high three assists in a game vs Carolina on Jan. 22nd, which snapped a four-game drought without recording a point.
Damon Severson logged over 29:00 of TOI for the fourth time in his career (29:12), & led the Devils for TOI in seven consecutive games. Severson’s career-high for TOI in a game is 29:52 which was logged on Jan. 2nd, 2022, vs Washington – the last time the Devils earned a road victory.
COACH’S CORNER
“Every team that’s down two goals is going to come at you, so it was more about us & doing the little things you need to do to win games…right now we’re finding ways to lose games, as oppose to putting teams away & finding ways to win games.”
– Assistant coach Alain Nasreddine via Monday’s postgame
Akira Schmid recorded his fourth-career NHL start & with Jersey, but logged his fourth loss for the season.
TONIGHT’S PLAYER TO WATCH
Jesper Boqvist aims for a career-high three-game point streak, after New Jersey’s 2nd-round draft-pick, 36th overall selection, recorded goals in consecutive games.
Tonight’s loss marked the second time this season that Jersey’s team suffered five consecutive regulation losses (last: Dec. 10th to Dec. 19th, 2021, 6 GP).
The Devils witnessed their fifth consecutive loss, after Toronto defeated New Jersey by a score of 6-4 at Scotiabank Arena.
Entering tonight’s contest, the Devils were 11-1-0 when scoring four-or-more goals in a game this season, but are now 11-2-0 (last lost: Dec. 3rd at WPG, 8-4, L).
The Devils netted a goal less than 1:00 into a contest for the fourth time this season, after Pavel Zacha opened the scoring 0:47 into the game.
Zacha’s 11th tally marked the team’s third-fastest goal to start a game this season, while the fastest was Dougie Hamilton’s season-opening goal at 0:17. (Oct. 15th, vs CHI, 4-2 OT-W).
New Jersey surrendered its eighth shorthanded goal for the season, which is the most allowed in the NHL (Los Angeles, 7).
The Devils allowed their fourth hat-trick for 2021-22 (last: Dec. 14th, 2021, at DET, D. Larkin), after Auston Matthews logged his fifth-career hat-trick & second-career vs New Jersey. Matthews logged hat-tricks in his last two games played against the Devils (last: Jan. 14th, 2020).
Tonight’s game marked the first time this season that the Devils allowed four goals in the third period of play (last: Mar. 4th, 2021, vs NYR, 6-1, L).
The Devils were 0/3 on the power play, & 2/3 on the penalty kill, but the power-play goal allowed was an empty net goal which marked Matthews third on the night.
The Devils were 36% on face-offs (21/58). The team’s season-low for face-offs is 32.2% on Dec. 8th, 2021, vs PHI (3-0, W).
The Devils were outshot, 33-29.
Skaters in COVID protocol: None
Pavel Zacha (as noted above) opened the scoring for Jersey 0:47 into the contest & marked his second goal over his last six games played (2g-1a-3 PTS).
The tally also marked the Czech Republic native’s only goal for this season that was recorded in the first period of play.
Jesper Boqvist earned his second goal for the 2021-22 campaign and in consecutive games.
While the Swedish native earned his first-career multi-point effort (1g-1a), it was also the fourth time in his career that Boqvist logged points in consecutive games played (last: Apr. 8th to Apr. 9th, 2021, 2g-0a-2 PTS, 2 GP).
Boqvist’s multi-point outing also tied a career-high for points in a season 7 PTS (2g-5a), which was prior earned in 2020-21 (4g-3a-7 PTS).
Tonight’s contest marked the first time that Andreas Johnsson played against his former team since the forward was acquired via trade from Toronto on Oct. 10th, 2020, in exchange for Joey Anderson.
Johnsson earned his 11th goal for the campaign 9:10 into the first period. The left-handed shot beat Toronto’s Jack Campbell, short-side, via a two-on-one from the left left-side of the ice.
Nate Bastian earned the Devils’ fourth goal for the contest 7:33 into the second period. The point set a new career-high for Bastian with 11 PTS (9g-2a). Bastian’s prior career-high for points in a season was 10 PTS (3g-7a) in 2020-21.
Janne Kuokkanen earned an assist on Boqvist’s goal, which marked the second time this season that the winger recorded at least one point in consecutive games (last: Dec. 31st, 2021 to Jan. 2nd, 2022, 1g-1a-2 PTS).
Blueliner Ryan Graves earned his first point since logging a career-high three assists in a game vs Carolina on Jan. 22nd, which snapped a four-game drought without recording a point.
Damon Severson logged over 29:00 of TOI for the fourth time in his career (29:12), & led the Devils for TOI in seven consecutive games. Severson’s career-high for TOI in a game is 29:52 which was logged on Jan. 2nd, 2022, vs Washington – the last time the Devils earned a road victory.
Akira Schmid logged his fourth-career NHL start & with Jersey, but earned his fourth loss for the season.
Jan. 17: Janne Kuokkanen, Mason Geertsen & Mackenzie Blackwood removed from COVID protocol
Jan. 19:Colton White placed on waivers – intent for Taxi Squad (AHL)
Jan. 20:Colton White cleared waivers
Jan. 22: Ty Smith placed on Injured Reserve (upper-body Inj.)
Colton White recalled from Taxi Squad
Jan. 24: A.J. Greer activated off I.R. & reassigned to Utica (AHL)
Jan. 25: Mackenzie Blackwood placed on I.R.
Akira Schmid recalled from Utica (AHL)
Jan. 27: Ty Smith activated off I.R.
Michael McLeod placed on I.R. (Upper-body Inj.)
TONIGHT’S GAME VS TORONTO
The Devils visit Toronto for the first time since Feb. 14th, 2020, which resulted in a 7-4 loss. The contest also marked the last meeting between the two Eastern Conference foes.
The last time that the Devils defeated Toronto was Apr. 5th, 2018, in a 2-1 win at Prudential Center. Jersey’s team is 2-4-2 vs the Leafs since the start of the 2017-18 season.
Tonight’s contest marks the final outing of a three-game road trip for Jersey (0-2-0), while the Devils also suffered consecutive one-goal losses.
The outing also marks the first game of a home-at-home, back-to-back set vs Toronto. The Devils are 2-4-1 in first games played in back-to-back sets for 2021-22.
The Devils recorded a power-play goal in six consecutive games which marked a season-high, but that streak ended on Saturday in Carolina (0/2).
Since Jan. 1st, New Jersey’s penalty-kill ranks fifth in the NHL at 87.0% (20/23), per Jan. 30th.
The Devils haven’t recorded more than two goals in a contest (0-4-0) since Jersey played the Hurricanes on Jan. 22nd (7-4, W).
Jersey’s team aims to win its first road victory since Jan. 2nd , at Washington, which was a 4-3 overtime win (0-5-0).
Entering tonight’s contest, the Devils logged a 3-8-0 record for January, & five of the eight losses were decided by one goal.
Season-series record: Tonight’s game marks the first of three matchups vs the Leafs.
The Devils’ record on Mondays: 0-0-1…0-0-0 via road. Last Monday game: Dec. 6th, vs OTT, 3-2 shootout loss.
Record vs Eastern Conference: 11-12-3 & Record vs Atlantic Division: 4-5-1
Next game vs TOR: Feb. 1, TOR at NJD, 7:00 P.M. E.T.
New Jersey will face-off with all 31 NHL teams for the 2021-22 campaign and its regular season concludes on Apr. 29 at Prudential Center vs Detroit.
Tonight’s contest was rescheduled circa Jan. 17th.
The Devils enter tonight’s contest hoping to end a four-game losing streak, which were all logged in regulation. It’s the second time that Jersey’s team suffered four consecutive regulations losses this season (Dec. 10th to Dec. 19th, 2021, 0-6-0).
The Devils entail the most Switzerland-born players for any NHL active roster: N. Hischier, J. Siegenthaler & A. Schmid.
On Thursday, Jan. 27th, the Devils faced their second penalty shot for 2021-22 & Jersey’s second penalty shot faced at Tampa for the season. The Devils’ first penalty shot against this season was on Nov. 20th, 2021, at Tampa.
Mackenzie Blackwood denied Brayden Point on Nov. 20th, & Jon Gillies turned away Anthony Cirelli’s penalty shot attempt on Thursday.
It marked the first time in franchise history that the Devils witnessed multiple penalty shots against (them) at the same visiting arena in a single season.
Only one other team has earned more than one penalty shot against the Devils in the same season, which was Columbus on March 19th, 2017, at Prudential Center.
The Blue Jackets earned two penalty shots in that game and converted on both vs Cory Schneider (B. Dubinsky & L. Sedlak).
All-time record vs TOR: 50-63-20-12
All-time road record vs TOR: 21-41-5-7
Patrik Elias is New Jersey’s all-time leading scorer vs Toronto (17g-22a-39 PTS).
Hockey Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur (22-20-7-3) is New Jersey’s all-time wins leader vs the Leafs.
* On Tuesday, the Devils announced a multi-year partnership with Jackpocket, the leading lottery app in the U.S. to provide a secure way to order official state lottery tickets. With this partnership, the company becomes the Devils Official Lottery Courier Partner (see more details at devils.nhl.com).
*The NHL announced “a comprehensive update to the 2021-22 regular-season schedule, one that will enable all 32 teams to complete their respective 82-game slates by the regular season’s original closing date of Friday, April 29.”
The Devils have eight contests re-scheduled overall – involving postponements, flipping of games and date changes of future matchups (See Devils.nhl.com for more details).
*Jack Hughes was named New Jersey’s 2022 NHL All-Star. The game is in Vegas on Saturday, Feb. 5th. He’ll become the fourth player in franchise history who earned the honor before turning 21-years-old (Kirk Muller, Joe Cirella & Scott Gomez), per NHL Pr.
*Defenseman Dougie Hamilton received surgery on his jaw on Jan. 5th, & there is no official timetable on his return, but he did practice on Wednesday & traveled with the team.
* NHL Pr announced that Devils forward Jack Hughes was named one of the league’s “Three Stars” of the week (second star) for the week ending Jan. 2.
MUTUAL CONNECTIONS
Toronto’s President & Alternate Governor Brendan Shanahan was New Jersey’s 2nd-overall draft-pick in the 1987 NHL Draft. Shanahan spent his first four NHL seasons with the Devils from 1987-88 to 1990-91 (94g-134a-228 PTS, 315 GP).
Maple Leafs forward Wayne Simmonds skated in 61 games with the Devils in 2019-20 prior being traded to Buffalo.
LAST TRADE
The last time the Devils and Toronto executed a trade was Feb. 28th, 2017, when the Devils acquired Viktor Loov in exchange for Sergey Kalinin.
DID YOU KNOW
The Devils eliminated the Maple Leafs in six games in the 2000 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, and allowed just six shots on goal in Game 6, after a 3-0 victory at Continental Airlines Arena.
DHN TRIVIA
Patrik Elias is tied with one other skater for the most postseason points in franchise history (5g-7a-12 PTS) vs Toronto. Who is the other skater?
Jesper Boqvist inked his name onto the scoresheet on Saturday & for the first time this season.
The Swedish native also tied a season-high three shots on goal (last: Nov 9th, 2021, vs FLA).
Forward Jimmy Vesey snapped a six-game skid without recording a point, after earning an assist on Saturday.
Blueliner Damon Severson has led the Devils in TOI in six consecutive games dating to Jan. 19th vs Arizona. Severson ranks second on New Jersey with 6 PTS (1g-5a) over that span, while Jesper Bratt ranks first (4g-3a-7 PTS).
Jesper Bratt logged his 11th game with two-or-more points in a game this season, after Thursday’s contest vs Tampa on Jan. 27th (0g-2a-2 PTS). That extended a career-high, while Bratt’s prior career-high for two-or-more points in a game for a single season was eight games (2017-18).
Bratt needs one more PPG to tie his career-high (4), which was earned in the Swedish native’s rookie campaign (2017-18).
New Jersey’s 2019, No. 1-overall-selection in Jack Hughes tied his career-high 11 goals in a season on Thursday, Jan. 27th.
No. 86’s next power-play assist will also tie a career-high (6), which was earned last season.
COACH’S CORNER
“Even in the first (period) we passed (on) some opportunities to get the puck to the net, maybe (could have) look for a little bit of an uglier play, or an ugly goal. It’s hard.
We played as well as we’ve played defensively. I just thought we passed up some offensive-zone plays where we had lanes to get it to the net & we chose to pass, & that’s probably the one area we have to improve.”
– Head coach Lindy Ruff via Saturday’s postgame on the team’s offensive production
Jon Gillies has appeared in five consecutive games for Jersey, after Saturday’s affair in Carolina, & arguably played his best game since joining the Devils.
Gillies turned away all 17 shots that he faced after the first period of play vs Carolina.
TONIGHT’S PLAYER TO WATCH
With the absence of Michael McLeod & his strong face-off presence, Yegor Sharangovich not only helps to boost the team’s offensive production but also contribute in the face-off circle.
Sharangovich finished Saturday’s contest 5/7 on face-offs (66.7%) overall & 3/4 on F/O in the offensive zone (75%).
New Jersey’s AHL affiliate, Utica Comets, sit in 1st place for the AHL’s North Division (24-5-5), & are fresh off a 4-2 vs Rochester on Saturday, but played at Cleveland on Sunday.
Jersey’s team suffered its fourth consecutive loss, after the Hurricanes defeated New Jersey by a score of 2-1 at PNC Arena.
The Devils fell to 3-8-2 when allowing two-or-more goals in the first period of play this season.
Tonight’s loss marked the second time this season that Jersey’s team suffered four consecutive regulation losses (last: Dec. 10th to Dec. 19th, 2021, 6 GP).
The Devils are now 6-7-5 in games decided by one goal. Three of those seven losses were logged over the team’s last four games dating to Jan. 23rd (vs LAK, 3-2, L).
Jersey’s team has recorded two-or-fewer goals in its last four games.
The Devils were 0/2 on the power play, but 2/2 on the penalty kill. Entering tonight’s contest, the Devils recorded at least one power-play goal in six consecutive games which marked a season-high.
Tonight’s effort marked the fourth time that the Devils earned one-or-fewer goals in a road contest (last: Dec. 14th, at PHI, 6-1, L).
The Devils were 53% on face-offs (28/25).
The Devils outshot Carolina, 25-23. The fewest shots allowed in a game this season for Jersey is 17, which was logged on Jan. 19th vs ARI (4-1, L).
Skaters in COVID protocol: None
Jesper Boqvist opened the scoring for Jersey & tallied his first goal for 2021-22. Boqvist beat Carolina’s Antti Raanta with a one-timer from the right hashmark & five-hole.
Boqvist tied a season-high three shots on goal (last: Nov 9th, 2021, vs FLA).
Jimmy Vesey collected the primary assist on Boqvist’s tally & snapped a six-game skid without recording a point in a game dating to Jan. 8th (1g-1a-2 PTS).
Janne Kuokkanen logged his fifth assist for the 2021-22 campaign. The helper also marked Kuokkanen’s second career point (0g-2a-2 PTS) vs the team that drafted him in the 2nd-round at the 2016 NHL Draft (last: Jan. 22nd, 0g-1a-1 PTS).
Defenseman Damon Severson led the Devils in TOI for the sixth consecutive game dating to Jan. 19th vs Arizona.
Nico Hischier earned a career-high five blocked shots (prior: 4, Oct. 19th, vs SEA).
Jon Gillies logged his sixth start for New Jersey in 2021-22 & was stellar all night in the net. Gillies turned away all 17 shots that he faced after the first period.
Jan. 17: Janne Kuokkanen, Mason Geertsen & Mackenzie Blackwood removed from COVID protocol
Jan. 19:Colton White placed on waivers – intent for Taxi Squad (AHL)
Jan. 20:Colton White cleared waivers
Jan. 22: Ty Smith placed on Injured Reserve (upper-body Inj.)
Colton White recalled from Taxi Squad
Jan. 24: A.J. Greer activated off I.R. & reassigned to Utica (AHL)
Jan. 25: Mackenzie Blackwood placed on I.R.
Akira Schmid recalled from Utica (AHL)
Jan. 27: Ty Smith activated off I.R.
Michael McLeod placed on I.R. (Upper-body Inj.)
TONIGHT’S GAME VS CAROLINA
Jersey’s team visits Carolina for the first time this season, & first time since Feb. 14th, 2020, which resulted in a 5-2 loss.
The last time the Devils defeated Carolina in Raleigh was Nov. 2nd, 2019, after a 5-3 victory.
Tonight’s contest marks the second of a three-game road trip for Jersey (0-1-0).
The Devils recorded a power-play goal in six consecutive games, after Thursday’s contest which extended a season-high. It’s the first time since Oct. 17th to Nov. 2nd, 2019, Jersey recorded a PPG in six consecutive games.
Since Jan. 1st, New Jesey’s power-play ranks 9th in the NHL at 26.9% (7/26), per Jan. 28th.
The Devils haven’t recorded more than two goals in a contest (0-3-0) since Jersey last played the Hurricanes on Jan. 22nd (7-4, W).
Jersey’s team aims to win its first road victory since Jan. 2nd , at Washington, which was a 4-3 overtime win (0-4-0).
The last meeting: New Jersey last played the Hurricanes on Jan. 22nd, (7-4, W) at the Rock.
Season-series record: 1-0-0…Tonight’s game marks the second of four matchups vs the ‘Canes.
The Devils’ record on Saturdays: 5-4-0…3-3-0 via road, but the team dropped its last three road games played on a Saturday (last: Jan. 8th at CBJ, 4-3, L).
Record vs Eastern Conference: 11-11-3 & Record vs Metropolitan Division: 7-6-2.
Next game vs CAR: Apr. 23rd, CAR at NJD, 12:30 P.M. E.T.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Monday, Jan. 31: at TOR, 7:30 P.M. E.T.
Tuesday, Feb. 1: vs TOR, 7:00 P.M. E.T.
All-Star Break
Monday, Feb. 7: at OTT, 7:00 P.M. E.T.
Tuesday, Feb. 8: at MTL, 7:00 P.M. E.T.
Thursday, Feb. 10: at STL, 8:00 P.M. E.T
New Jersey will face-off with all 31 NHL teams for the 2021-22 campaign and its regular season concludes on Apr. 29 at Prudential Center vs Detroit.
The Devils entail the most Switzerland players for any NHL active roster: N. Hischier, J. Siegenthaler & A. Schmid.
On Thursday, the Devils faced their second penalty shot for 2021-22 & Jersey’s second penalty shot faced at Tampa for the season. The Devils’ first penalty shot against this season was on Nov. 20th, 2021, at Tampa.
Mackenzie Blackwood denied Brayden Point on Nov. 20th, & Jon Gillies turned away Anthony Cirelli’s penalty shot attempt on Thursday.
It marked the first time in franchise history that the Devils witnessed multiple penalty shots against (them) at the same visiting arena in a single season.
Only one other team has earned more than one penalty shot against the Devils in the same season, which was Columbus on March 19th, 2017, at Prudential Center.
The Blue Jackets earned two penalty shots in that game and converted on both vs Cory Schneider (B. Dubinsky & L. Sedlak).
All-time record vs CAR/HFW: 79-54-12-3
All-time road record vs CAR/HFW: 34-31-8-2
Patrik Elias is New Jersey’s all-time leading scorer vs Carolina (22g-35a-57 PTS).
Hockey Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur (39-16-5-1) is New Jersey’s all-time wins leader vs Carolina/Hartford. Brodeur is the NHL’s all-time wins leader against Carolina, while Patrick Roy is second with 35 career wins.
* On Tuesday, the Devils announced a multi-year partnership with Jackpocket, the leading lottery app in the U.S. to provide a secure way to order official state lottery tickets. With this partnership, the company becomes the Devils Official Lottery Courier Partner (see more details at devils.nhl.com).
*The NHL announced “a comprehensive update to the 2021-22 regular-season schedule, one that will enable all 32 teams to complete their respective 82-game slates by the regular season’s original closing date of Friday, April 29.”
The Devils have eight contests re-scheduled overall – involving postponements, flipping of games and date changes of future matchups (See Devils.nhl.com for more details).
*Jack Hughes was named New Jersey’s 2022 NHL All-Star. The game is in Vegas on Saturday, Feb. 5th. He’ll become the fourth player in franchise history who earned the honor before turning 21-years-old (Kirk Muller, Joe Cirella & Scott Gomez), per NHL Pr.
*Defenseman Dougie Hamilton received surgery on his jaw on Jan. 5th, & there is no official timetable on his return, but he did practice on Wednesday & traveled with the team.
* NHL Pr announced that Devils forward Jack Hughes was named one of the league’s “Three Stars” of the week (second star) for the week ending Jan. 2.
MUTUAL CONNECTIONS
Devils’ defenseman Dougie Hamilton spent three seasons with Carolina from 2018-19 to 2020-21. Hamilton tallied 121 PTS (42g-79a) in 184 regular-season games for the Hurricanes.
New Jersey forward Janne Kuokkanen was drafted by Carolina in the 2nd round of the 2016 NHL Draft, 43rd overall. Kuokkanen skated in 11 career regular-season games for the ‘Canes in parts of two seasons (2017-18 to 2018-19).
LAST TRADE
The last time the Devils and Carolina executed a trade was Feb. 24th, 2020, when the Devils acquired Janne Kuokkanen, Fredrik Claesson & a 2020 conditional 4th-round pick in exchange for Sami Vatanen.
DID YOU KNOW
One of Martin Brodeur’s three career goals earned (includes regular-season & playoffs) was vs Carolina on Mar. 21st, 2013 at Raleigh.
NON-STOP
Jesper Bratt logged his 11th game with two-or-more points in a game this season, after Thursday’s contest vs Tampa (0g-2a-2 PTS). That extended a career-high, while Bratt’s prior career-high for two-or-more points in a game for a single season was eight games (2017-18).
Bratt needs one more PPG to tie his career-high (4), which was earned in the Swedish native’s rookie campaign (2017-18).
The 5-foot-10 forward has recorded power-play points (2g-1a- 3 PP-PTS) in three consecutive games, which tied a career-best (last: Feb. 14th to Feb. 17, 2019, 1g-2a-3 PP-PTS).
The winger has recorded points in his last seven GP (5g-5a-10 PTS), but did miss two games over that span on Jan. 8th & Jan. 13 due to COVID.
Bratt can tie a career-high six-game point streak with one point tonight (Mar. 16th to Mar. 25th, 2021, 2g-4a-6 PTS).
New Jersey’s 2019, No. 1-overall-selection in Jack Hughes tied his career-high 11 goals in a season on Thursday. The youngster also extended his point streak to five games (2g-3a-5 PTS), which tied Hughes’ career-high (last: Dec. 29th 2021, to Jan. 6th 2022, 4g-8a-12 PTS).
No. 86’s next power-play assist will also tie a career-high (6), which was earned last season.
THIS IS THE WAY
The longest tenured Devil in Damon Severson extended his point streak to four games (1g-5a-6 PTS), after recording his fourth multi-point game for 2021-22 (1g-1a-2 PTS).
Additionally, Severson earned a power-play point in four consecutive games, which extended a career-best (prior 3 games, 6 times).
Severson ranks seventh all-time in franchise history with 63-career power-play points (8g-55a), & is seven points behind Paul Martin (11g-59a-70 PTS) & Rob Ramage (22g-48a-70 PTS) for sixth all-time.
COACH’S CORNER
“We’ve gone into the zone numerous times where we’ve executed there, we just didn’t execute ‘right.’ And when you don’t execute right, you’re going to give some up.”
– Head coach Lindy Ruff via Thursday’s postgame on executing & finishing on offensive opportunities
Jon Gillies has appeared in four consecutive games for Jersey, but seeks his second win with the Devils for the 2021-22 campaign.
TONIGHT’S PLAYER TO WATCH
New Jersey has earned a point in the standings in seven out of nine games when Pavel Zacha scores a goal this season. However, the Czech native has 3 PTS (1g-2a) over his last ten games dating to Dec. 19th.
New Jersey’s AHL affiliate, Utica Comets, sit in 1st place for the AHL’s North Division (23-5-4), & are fresh off a 4-0 win vs Providence on Tues. Utica hosted Charolette on Friday night.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (28-10-3 – 59 Points) vs. NEW JERSEY DEVILS (15-24-5 – 35 Points) MONDAY, JANUARY 31, 2022 1 2 3 FINAL NEW JERSEY 3 1 0 4 TORONTO 2 0 4 6
ON THE SCORESHEET
Auston Matthews scored for the Maple Leafs at 6:33 of the first period, 15:04 of the first period and 19:38 of the third period. Matthews recorded his fifth career NHL hat trick. Matthews has posted 28 goals this season. Matthews also posted the primary assist on Marner’s goal, recording his 21st assist of the season. Matthews tied a single-game career high four points, which he has marked on nine occasions. Matthews is currently on a three-game point streak where he has posted eight points (3G, 5A).
Jason Spezza scored for Toronto at 4:16 of the third period. Spezza scored his eighth goal of the season.
Mitch Marner scored for the Maple Leafs at 13:28 of the third period. Marner recorded his 12th goal of the season. Marner has scored in six-consecutive games. Marner also registered the primary assist on Matthews’ first goal of the game and the secondary assist on Matthews’ second goal of the game. Marner has posted 21 assists this season. Marner is currently on a six-game point streak where he has posted 12 points (6G, 6A).
Ilya Mikheyev scored shorthanded for Toronto at 16:56 of the third period. Mikheyev recorded his seventh goal of the season and the third shorthanded goal of his NHL career. Mikheyev also posted the primary assist on Spezza’s goal. Mikheyev recorded his second assist of the season. Mikheyev recorded his ninth NHL career two-point game.
Timothy Liljegren recorded the secondary assist on Matthews’ first goal of the game. Liljegren posted his fifth assist of the season.
Morgan Rielly registered the primary assist on Matthews’ second goal of the game as well as the primary assist on Matthews’ third goal of the game. Rielly has posted 33 assists this season. Rielly has registered an assist in four-consecutive games (6A).
Alexander Kerfoot registered the secondary assist on Spezza’s goal as well as the primary assist on Mikheyev’s shorthanded goal. Kerfoot has posted 25 assists this season. Kerfoot has posted an assist in back-to-back games (4A). SHOTS ON GOAL (5-on-5 in brackets) 1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL NEW JERSEY 13 (13) 14 (9) 2 (2) 29 (24) TORONTO 9 (9) 13 (8) 11 (9) 33 (26) SHOT ATTEMPTS (5-on-5 in brackets) 1st 2nd 3rd TOTAL NEW JERSEY 20 (20) 20 (14) 9 (5) 49 (39) TORONTO 24 (24) 25 (19) 18 (13) 67 (56) ON HOME ICE
The Maple Leafs are 16-4-1 at home this season.
Toronto’s all-time record is 76-41-20-9 in 146 games against the New Jersey Devils and 49-17-5-4 in 75 games played in Toronto.
Toronto is 14-6-1 against the Eastern Conference this season and 6-4-1 against the Metropolitan Division this season. MAPLE LEAFS LEADERS Shots 6 (Mikheyev) Shot Attempts 10 (Matthews) Faceoff Wins 13 (Matthews) Faceoff Win Percentage 100% (Spezza – 7 won, 0 lost) Hits 4 (Kerfoot) Blocked Shots 5 (Brodie) Takeaways 2 (Bunting, Nylander) TOI 27:33 (Rielly) Power Play TOI 4:20 (Matthews) Shorthanded TOI 3:30 (Holl) Shifts 27 (Rielly, Brodie) 5-on-5 Shot Attempt Percentage 75.00% (Sandin – 30 for, 10 against) RECORD WHEN…
The Maple Leafs were 1-for-3 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill tonight.
Toronto is 10-7-2 when the opponent scores the first goal of the game.
The Maple Leafs are 3-4-2 when trailing after one period and 4-9-0 when trailing after two periods.
Toronto is 18-6-2 when outshooting their opponent.
The Maple Leafs are 1-2-1 in Monday games and 4-2-1 in the first game of a back-to-back. OF NOTE…
Auston Matthews secured his 400th career NHL point during tonight’s game.
Per NHL Stats, among players to debut with the franchise, Auston Matthews (227-173—400 in 372 GP) required the fewest games by a Maple Leafs player to reach the 400-point milestone. He bested the previous mark held by Syl Apps (387 GP).
Rasmus Sandin was on the ice for a team-high 30 Toronto shot attempts-for at 5-on-5.
Rasmus Sandin finished the game with a team-high 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage of 75.00 percent (30 for, 10 against).
Per NHL Stats, the Maple Leafs scored four third-period goals to erase a multi-goal deficit and defeat the Devils after also staging a rally in the final frame to oust the Red Wings on Jan. 29. Toronto has overcome a multi-goal deficit in the third period to win consecutive games for just the second time in franchise history. Coincidentally, the first occurrence took place on Jan. 29, 2000 (vs. LAK) and Feb. 1, 2000 (at TBL). UPCOMING GAMES: Feb. 1 Leafs at New Jersey Prudential Center 7:00 pm ET Feb. 7 Leafs vs. Carolina Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET Feb. 10 Leafs at Calgary Scotiabank Saddledome 9:00 pm ET Feb. 12 Leafs at Vancouver Rogers Arena 7:00 pm ET Feb. 14 Leafs at Seattle Climate Pledge Arena 9:00 pm ET Feb. 17 Leafs vs. Pittsburgh Scotiabank Arena 7:00 pm ET
POSTGAME QUOTES: HEAD COACH SHELDON KEEFE On tonight’s game: “Obviously it’s been a flip of the script here where we’ve had leads and had poor third periods and now we’re playing from behind and having good third periods and finding ways to get points. Obviously we’ll take that, we like that our team has got lots of fight in it and keeps pushing and had confidence in it’s ability to come back in the game and score enough goals to win. Obviously the start is not even close to good enough and it’s the kind of start that you deserve to lose games when you play like that and start that way and spot them three but fortunately for us there was enough time for us to chip away at it and push back. Just loved our finding a way to tie the game and you get the adversity of a late penalty kill and you turn that into a game-winning goal. You love to see that.” AUSTON MATTHEWS On tonight’s comeback: “I think we just got to playing a little bit better. Our start wasn’t very good. I don’t know it just seemed like we weren’t ready to play for the puck drop and I think it showed. They’re a really good team, they have a lot of young, skilled guys that obviously make you pay and they had some luck chances tonight, especially early on, so credit to our guys for staying with it and staying patient and just continuing to fight all night long and huge play by the penalty kill with (Kerfoot) and (Mikheyev) to get us that goal there on the PK and just all around really good effort in the last half of the game.” On the team’s response when Campbell was pulled: “(Campbell) didn’t play bad we just gave up such grade-a chances for them and they capitalized on them. Like you said it’s more of a wake-up call for the guys that are out there playing and not necessarily our goaltender cause we weren’t really helping him out much there at the start.” MITCH MARNER: On tonight’s comeback: “Just doing what we do best in the third period. Forechecking, getting pucks back, getting around the net, just kind of being in pursuit of the puck the whole third period there. But obviously we know we need to do better in the first 40 and that’s something we need to make sure we bring tomorrow.” On his six-game goal streak: “I just find I’m getting into open spots and I’m not afraid to shoot it. I think before maybe I would hold onto it for an extra second trying to find another player or find something else but right now I’m just trying to, when it touches my stick, just if I can one-time it or grip it and rip it.” PETR MRÁZEK: On his confidence in earning a win tonight: “We got the win so like I said before those wins matter and I’m glad that in the third period we scored four goals and we turned the game around.” On being called upon to relieve Jack Campbell: “Those are the hardest for a goaltender to go in but you have to be prepared, you have to be ready, you have to always come to the rink and you never know what happens so you have to be ready to go in and this is one of the nights that I got the call to go in.”
2021-22 Matchups vs. New Jersey: First of Three Next Game vs. New Jersey: Tuesday, February 1 at New Jersey Toronto Season Record: 27-10-3 Toronto Home Record: 15-4-1 TV: Sportsnet RADIO: Sportsnet 590
RECENT TRANSACTIONS January 28, 2022 Defenceman Carl Dahlstrom has been assigned to the Maple Leafs taxi squad from the Toronto Marlies (AHL). January 28, 2022 Defenceman Alex Biega has been reassigned to the Marlies from the Maple Leafs taxi squad. January 24, 2022 Forward Joey Anderson, defenceman Carl Dahlstrom and goaltender Erik Kallgren have be reassigned to the Toronto Marlies (AHL) from the Maple Leafs taxi squad. January 22, 2022 Goaltender Erik Kallgren has been reassigned to the Maple Leafs taxi squad from the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
LAST GAME Score: Toronto 7 at Detroit 4 Date: Saturday, January 29, 2022 TOR Goals: Engvall, Bunting (3x), Sandin, Marner, Tavares DET Goals: Larkin (2x), Namestnikov, Bertuzzi TOR Goaltender: Mrazek, 31/35, .886 SV% DET Goaltender: Nedeljkovic, 30/35, .857 SV% TOR Power Play: 1-for-2 TOR Penalty Kill: 0-for-1
NEXT GAME Date: Tuesday, February 1, 2022 Opponent: at New Jersey Devils Time: 7:00 pm ET Broadcast Information: TSN4 (TV), Sportsnet 590 (Radio)
INJURY REPORT Jake Muzzin Concussion ALL-TIME VS. NEW JERSEY DEVILS:
First Matchup between Clubs: October 9, 1974 (Toronto 6 vs. Kansas City 2) All-Time Record: 75-41-20-9 (145 Games) All-Time Record at Home: 48-17-5-4 (74 Games) All-Time Record on the Road: 27-24-15-5 (71 Games) Last Home Win vs. Opponent: January 14, 2020 (Toronto 7 vs. New Jersey 4) Record in Last Five Games: 5-0-0
ACTIVE LEADERS VS. NEW JERSEY DEVILS: Games Played: Jason Spezza (42), John Tavares (42), Wayne Simmonds (39) Goals: John Tavares (19), Wayne Simmonds (13), Jason Spezza (8), Auston Matthews (8) Assists: Jason Spezza (28), John Tavares (18), Wayne Simmonds (8) Points: John Tavares (37), Jason Spezza (36), Wayne Simmonds (21) Penalty Minutes: Wayne Simmonds (101), Jason Spezza (18), John Tavares (16)
2021-22 AVERAGES AND RANKINGS Points % GF/Game GA/Game PP% PK% SF/G SA/G FO% Toronto .713 3.45 2.65 31.0% 83.5% 34.3 30.8 55.7% New Jersey .407 2.79 3.40 17.1% 82.1% 31.7 30.5 47.5%
THE MAN ADVANTAGE IN 2021-22 Power Play: 35/113 (31.0%) Power Play Goal Leader: 9 – Matthews Power Play Point Leader: 18 – Matthews (9G, 9A) 2020-21 Power Play: 31/155 (20.0%)
ON THE PK IN 2021-22 Penalty Kill: 91/109 (83.5%) Shorthanded Goal Leader: 2 – Marner Shorthanded Point Leader: 2 – Marner (2G), Brodie (2A) 2020-21 Penalty Kill: 113/144 (78.5%)
FAST FACTS Monday games 4th of 10 (3 home, 7 road) Back-to-Backs played 6 of 13 Record in first game of back-to-back 3-2-1 Record in second game of back-to-back 2-4-0 January games 11th of 11 (4 home, 7 road) UPCOMING MILESTONES
TJ Brodie Nine points away from 300 career NHL points Auston Matthews Four points away from 400 career NHL points Jake Muzzin 10 points away from 300 career NHL points William Nylander Two games away from 400 career NHL games played
RECENT MILESTONES TJ Brodie Appeared in his 700th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK TJ Brodie Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 14, 2021 at EDM Jack Campbell Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 16, 2021 vs. NSH Pierre Engvall Appeared in his 100th career NHL game, Nov. 2, 2021 vs. VGK Ondrej Kaše Recorded his 100th career NHL point, Nov. 10, 2021 at PHI Ondrej Kaše Scored his 50th career NHL goal, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Alexander Kerfoot Appeared in his 300th career NHL game, Nov. 26, 2021 at SJS Alexander Kerfoot Recorded his 100th career NHL assist, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT Timothy Liljegren Scored his first career NHL goal, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL Auston Matthews Recorded his 200th career NHL goal, Oct. 25, 2021 at CAR Ilya Mikheyev Skated in his 100th career NHL game, Jan. 15, 2022 at STL William Nylander Recorded his 300th career NHL point, Jan. 19, 2022 at NYR Morgan Rielly Recorded his 250th career NHL assist, Oct. 27, 2021 at CHI Morgan Rielly Skated in his 600th career NHL game, Dec. 9, 2021 vs. TBL Wayne Simmonds Skated in his 950th career NHL game, Oct. 16, 2021 vs. OTT Jason Spezza Skated in his 1,200th career NHL game, Nov. 28, 2021 at ANA John Tavares Recorded his 200th point with the Maple Leafs, Oct. 18, 2021 vs. NYR John Tavares Scored his 100th goal with the Maple Leafs, Nov. 13, 2021 at BUF John Tavares Skated in his 900th career NHL game, Jan. 1, 2022 vs. OTT
2021-22 TEAM LEADERS
CATEGORY LEADER CATEGORY LEADER GOALS 25 – Matthews HITS 79 – Ritchie ASSISTS 31 – Rielly BLOCKED SHOTS 53 – Holl POINTS 45 – Matthews (25G, 20A) TAKEAWAYS 42 – Matthews POWER PLAY POINTS 18 – Matthews (9G, 9A) TOI PER GAME 24:21 – Rielly SHORTHANDED POINTS 2 – Marner (2G), Brodie (2A) PP TOI PER GAME 3:08 – Marner PIMs 40 – Simmonds SH TOI PER GAME 2:35 – Muzzin SHOTS 165 – Matthews WINS 20 – Campbell FACEOFF% 61.6% – Tavares GOALS-AGAINST AVERAGE 2.26 – Campbell SHOT ATTEMPTS% 58.53% – Mikheyev SAVE PERCENTAGE .926 – Campbell
DEVILS
LAST GAME The Devils dropped their fourth consecutive contest on Saturday at Carolina, after the Hurricanes defeated New Jersey by a score of 2-1. GOALS: CAR: J. Martinook, A. Svechnikov NJD: J. Boqvist INJURIES Miles Wood (Indefinitely) – Lower-body injury (Right hip), I.R. Tyce Thompson (Injured Reserve) – Upper-body injury, I.R. Jonathan Bernier (Injured Reserve) – Lower-Body injury, I.R. Dougie Hamilton (Injured Reserve) – Upper-body injury, I.R. Mackenzie Blackwood (Injured Reserve) – Lower-body injury (left heel), I.R. Michael McLeod – (Injured Reserve) – Upper-body injury Total Man-Games Lost to Injury: 169 Games lost to COVID: 47 RECENT HAPPENINGS Jan. 24: A.J. Greer activated off I.R. &reassigned to Utica (AHL) Jan. 25: Mackenzie Blackwood placed on I.R. Akira Schmid recalled from Utica (AHL) Jan. 27: Ty Smith activated off I.R. Michael McLeod placed on I.R. (Upper-body Inj.) TONIGHT’S GAME VS TORONTO The Devils visit Toronto for the first time since Feb. 14th, 2020, which resulted in a 7-4 loss. The contest also marked the last meeting between the two Eastern Conference foes. The last time that the Devils defeated Toronto was Apr. 5th, 2018, in a 2-1 win at Prudential Center. Jersey’s team is 2-4-2 vs the Leafs since the start of the 2017-18 season. Tonight’s contest marks the final outing of a three-game road trip for Jersey (0-2-0), while the Devils also suffered consecutive one-goal losses. The outing also marks the first game of a home-at-home, back-to-back set vs Toronto. The Devils are 2-4-1 in first games played in back-to-back sets for 2021-22. The Devils recorded a power-play goal in six consecutive games which marked a season-high, but that streak ended on Saturday in Carolina (0/2). Since Jan. 1st, New Jersey’s penalty-kill ranks fifth in the NHL at 87.0% (20/23), per Jan. 30th . The Devils haven’t recorded more than two goals in a contest (0-4-0) since Jersey played the Hurricanes on Jan. 22nd (7-4, W). Jersey’s team aims to win its first road victory since Jan. 2nd , at Washington, which was a 4-3 overtime win (0-5-0). Entering tonight’s contest, the Devils logged a 3-8-0 record for January, &five of the eight losses were decided by one goal. Season-series record: Tonight’s game marks the first of three matchups vs the Leafs. The Devils’ record on Mondays: 0-0-1…0-0-0 via road. Last Monday game: Dec. 6th, vs OTT, 3-2 shootout loss. Record vs Eastern Conference: 11-12-3 &Record vs Atlantic Division: 4-5-1 Next game vs TOR: Feb. 1, TOR at NJD, 7:00 P.M. E.T. UPCOMING SCHEDULE New Jersey Devils: Media Notes Tuesday, Feb. 1: vs TOR, 7:00 P.M. E.T. All-Star Break Monday, Feb. 7: at OTT, 7:00 P.M. E.T. Tuesday, Feb. 8: at MTL, 7:00 P.M. E.T. Thursday, Feb. 10: at STL, 8:00 P.M. E.T. Sunday, Feb. 13: vs PIT, 1:00 P.M. E.T. (Super Bowl Sunday) WHAT TO KNOW New Jersey will face-off with all 31 NHL teams for the 2021-22 campaign and its regular season concludes on Apr. 29 at Prudential Center vs Detroit. Tonight’s contest was rescheduled circa Jan. 17th. The Devils enter tonight’s contest hoping to end a four-game losing streak, which were all logged in regulation. It’s the second time that Jersey’s team suffered four consecutive regulations losses this season (Dec. 10th to Dec. 19th, 2021, 0-6-0). The Devils entail the most Switzerland-born players for any NHL active roster: N. Hischier, J. Siegenthaler &A. Schmid. All-time record vs TOR: 50-63-20-12 All-time road record vs TOR: 21-41-5-7 Patrik Elias is New Jersey’s all-time leading scorer vs Toronto (17g-22a-39 PTS). Hockey Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur (22-20-7-3) is New Jersey’s all-time wins leader vs the Leafs. *The NHL announced “a comprehensive update to the 2021-22 regular-season schedule, one that will enable all 32 teams to complete their respective 82-game slates by the regular season’s original closing date of Friday, April 29.” *Jack Hughes was named New Jersey’s 2022 NHL All-Star. The game is in Vegas on Saturday, Feb. 5th. He’ll become the fourth player in franchise history who earned the honor before turning 21-years-old (Kirk Muller, Joe Cirella &Scott Gomez), per NHL Pr. *Defenseman Dougie Hamilton received surgery on his jaw on Jan. 5th, & there is no official timetable on his return, but he did practice on Wednesday &traveled with the team.
NHL Pr announced that Devils forward Jack Hughes was named one of the league’s “Three Stars” of the week (second star) for the week ending Jan. 2. MUTUAL CONNECTIONS Toronto’s President &Alternate Governor Brendan Shanahan was New Jersey’s 2nd-overall draft-pick in the 1987 NHL Draft. Shanahan spent his first four NHL seasons with the Devils from 1987-88 to 1990-91 (94g-134a-228 PTS, 315 GP). Maple Leafs forward Wayne Simmonds skated in 61 games with the Devils in 2019-20 prior to being traded to Buffalo. LAST TRADE The last time the Devils and Toronto executed a trade was Feb. 28th, 2017, when the Devils acquired Viktor Loov in exchange for Sergey Kalinin. DID YOU KNOW The Devils eliminated the Maple Leafs in six games in the 2000 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, and allowed just six shots on goal in Game 6, after a 3-0 victory at Continental Airlines Arena. The six shots allowed are the fewest in NHL history for a playoff game. DHN TRIVIA Patrik Elias is tied with one other skater for the most postseason points in franchise history (5g-7a-12 PTS) vs Toronto. Who is the other skater? PLAYER NOTES Jesper Boqvist inked his name onto the scoresheet on Saturday &for the first time this season. The Swedish native also tied a season-high three shots on goal (last: Nov 9th, 2021, vs FLA). Forward Jimmy Vesey snapped a six-game skid without recording a point, after earning an assist on Saturday. Blueliner Damon Severson has led the Devils in TOI in six consecutive games dating to Jan. 19th vs Arizona. Severson ranks second on New Jersey with 6 PTS (1g-5a) over that span, while Jesper Bratt ranks first (4g-3a-7 PTS). Jesper Bratt logged his 11th game with two-or-more points in a game this season, after Thursday’s contest vs Tampa on Jan. 27th (0g-2a-2 PTS). That extended a career-high, while Bratt’s prior career-high for two-or-more points in a game for a single season was eight games (2017-18). Bratt needs one more PPG to tie his career-high (4), which was earned in the Swedish native’s rookie campaign (2017-18). New Jersey’s 2019, No. 1-overall-selection in Jack Hughes tied his career-high 11 goals in a season on Thursday, Jan. 27th . No. 86’s next power-play assist will also tie a career-high (6), which was earned last season. COACH’S CORNER “Even in the first (period) we passed (on) some opportunities to get the puck to the net, maybe (could have) look for a little bit of an uglier play, or an ugly goal. It’s hard. We played as well as we’ve played defensively. I just thought we passed up some offensive-zone plays where we had lanes to get it to the net &we chose to pass, &that’s probably the one area we have to improve.” – Head coach Lindy Ruff via Saturday’s postgame on the team’s offensive production BETWEEN THE PIPES Jon Gillies has appeared in five consecutive games for Jersey, after Saturday’s affair in Carolina, &arguably played his best game since joining the Devils. Gillies turned away all 17 shots that he faced after the first period of play vs Carolina. TONIGHT’S PLAYER TO WATCH With the absence of Michael McLeod &his strong face-off presence, Yegor Sharangovich not only helps to boost the team’s offensive production but also contribute in the face-off circle. Sharangovich finished Saturday’s contest 5/7 on face-offs (66.7%) overall &3/4 on F/O in the offensive zone (75%).
Boston Bruins (6-5-0) At New Jersey Devils (7-3-2) • 1:00 PM ET • Prudential Center • NESN/MSG+/NHLN/Listen: DEVILS HOCKEY NET *Links for Devils Hockey Network can be found on newjerseydevils.com and on Devils’ social media channels.* Check @NJDevils on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook for Morning Skate Interviews Pre-Game Availability *subject to change ~ 11:00 a.m. (approx.) – Media Availability for select players and […]
New Jersey Devils (6-3-2) vs. Buffalo Sabres (4-7-2) • 12:30 PM ET • Prudential Center • MSG+ / MSG-B *Links for Devils Hockey Network can be found on newjerseydevils.com and on Devils’ social media channels.* Check @NJDevils on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook for Morning Skate Interviews Pre-Game Availability *subject to change ~ 10:00am (approx.)- Media Availability for select players and […]
The Devils have a sticky situation on their hands. New Jersey added five more players to the COVID-19 list Tuesday to make it 14 total. The Devils postponed all games through at least Feb. 6 on Monday. But it doesn’t look like the problem ends in New Jersey. The Buffalo Sabres have placed two players […]
NEWARK, N.J. — Egor Sharangovich scored his first NHL goal in the final seconds of overtime to propel the New Jersey Devils to a 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday. MacKenzie Blackwood made 27 saves and picked up his first victory of the season. Miles Wood also scored for the second consecutive game…
Hischier had thought about fulfilling it during the season, but with the Devils uncertain when they would return, it turned out to be the perfect option. * This article was originally published here
With the New Jersey Devils missing out on the NHL’s 24-team return from the pause caused by the novel coronavirus, center Nico Hischier is putting his extended offseason to good use.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft is fulfilling his military obligation to Switzerland, which has a mandatory 18-week service for men followed by three-week stints over the next six or seven years.
Hischier had thought about fulfilling it during the season, but with the Devils uncertain when they would return from the pause, it turned out to be the perfect option.
“One reason I did it was I needed to stay in shape,” Hischier said Saturday on a Zoom call. “I didn’t know where to go because gyms weren’t open and I couldn’t just work out at home. I just didn’t have the tools for a good workout there. For a couple weeks it worked, but I felt like I needed to go somewhere to be prepared when we had to go back and play again. Then the army came and they had a great solution because where I’m working right now, that’s a great building. They have everything there you need.”
The 21-year-old Hischier is in a special program for athletes, although the first four weeks of classes were held remotely because of the virus. He is now attending classes to learn emergency medical techniques, among other things, in the mornings and working out with fellow athletes in the afternoon, including some hockey players from the Swiss national team.
He is not learning how to march or drive a tank, and he’s not heading to the firing range to shoot an automatic weapon. The soldiers in Switzerland’s professional army do that.
Hischier does get a uniform and there are rules to follow. He works five days, goes home and returns the following week. He does not have a rank – yet.
“We didn’t do much army stuff yet,” Hichier said, although he expects jt will increase by the time he finishes in mid-August.
Hischier is coming off what he considers a disappointing season. Like most of the Devils, he played well after a bad start led to the firing of coach John Hynes and general manager Ray Shero. He finished with 14 goals and 22 assists in 58 games. New Jersey posted a 28-29-12 record, finishing 12-5-4 in the last 21 contests under interim coach Alain Nasreddine.
“Obviously, it wasn’t a year that we expect,” Hischier said. “A lot of things happened, obviously, with all those changes. It wasn’t easy. I think the biggest thing for us was that we had a really bad start. It’s always frustrating and not easy when you’re down in the standings and you have to catch up.”
Hischier felt he took a few steps forward in his third season, but the team’s lack of success took away from that.
With the late-season trade of defenseman Andy Greene, Hischier is open to the idea of replacing him as the Devils’ captain next season. He was an alternate captain this season.
“At the end of the day, I’m still a young player,” Hischier said. “I still got a long, long way to go, a lot of things that I don’t know yet. I need to learn.”
It’s like learning to be in the army in some ways.
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The view from left field 