The New Jersey Devils will look to extend their winning streak to five games on Sunday night when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second game of a back-to-back set.
The Devils peppered 50 shots at goalie Ilya Sorokin in a 5-4 overtime win over the New York Islanders on Saturday.
Jack Hughes has nine points in the past four games after scoring in overtime in the game in Elmont, N.Y. New Jersey has scored four goals or more in every game of the winning streak and has eight victories in its past nine games.
“It’s a great comeback win for our team,” Hughes said after the most recent triumph. “First game like that all year where we were chipping away, chipping away and just stuck with it and we came back.”
Although the season is young, the rejiggered forward group of Devils general manager Sunny Mehta appears well-suited to coach Sheldon Keefe’s possession-based, cycle-heavy system.
Marquee offseason addition Anthony Mantha has totaled four points in two games after adding an assist against the Islanders.
Riding high on the first line, 24-year-old Luke Evangelista is on pace for a career high in points.
“Guys buy into the plan that we have that I think allows our skills to take over,” Keefe said. “And then there’s elements of luck that always are at play in overtime, and [you] try to stack the deck in our favor as much as we can and give those guys an opportunity to do their thing.”
New Jersey’s depth may pose a difficult challenge for Toronto’s middle six that has struggled mightily in the absence of Kirill Marchenko (lower-body injury).
The Maple Leafs are off to a difficult start in a six-game homestand, with a 3-2 setback to the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday and a 4-2 loss to their archrivals in the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
The Maple Leafs seemed poised for a late comeback against Montreal after they cut the deficit to one with two third-period goals. Zachary Bolduc quashed those hopes with a late power-play goal to hand Toronto its fourth loss in the past five games.
“I think we just shot ourselves in the foot a little bit … some of our puck play at times and just led to some breakdowns that obviously they capitalized on,” Toronto center John Tavares said after the game.
To make matters worse, the Maple Leafs were hit with another wave of injuries just as Tavares made his long-awaited return to the lineup after a nine-game absence due to a lower-body injury. Veteran defenseman Morgan Rielly, who leads the team’s blueline in points (12), left the Montreal game early with a lower-body injury.
“He’s played really well. I think he’s had a really good probably three weeks, as good as I’ve seen him in a long time,” Maple Leafs coach Jim Hiller said. “I think his confidence is back, so it’s a big blow.”
Toronto’s aging defensive corps has not been afforded much time at full strength this season. Chris Tanev, who missed most of October with an upper-body injury, may be forced into an even more prominent role.
Dakota Mermis might draw back into the Maple Leafs’ lineup if Rielly is sidelined. Depth defensemen Nick Blankenburg (upper-body injury) and Marshall Rifai (lower-body injury) remain on injured reserve.