The Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping to continue their winning ways in the middle game of their five-game home stand against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night at Air Canada Center. Toronto has earned points five straight games(4-0-1)and is looking to maintain the positive progress of the last two weeks instead of returning to the peaks and valleys of the first quarter of the season.
Toronto received a combined eight points from the second line of Joffrey Lupul, Nazem Kadri and Mike Santorelli in their 5-3 win over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday and are currently in the top five of the league with 81 goals for, but preventing the other team from scoring continues to be the focus of Leafs coach Randy Carlyle, as the Blue and White are in the bottom third of the NHL(21st overall) with 72 goals allowed.
“We can’t be happy with the sloppiness which we played,… Carlyle said after his club allowed 38 shots on Tuesday. “We cannot continue to play that style of game and think we are going to have success.…
The Devils are 0-3-2 in their last five games and continue to have trouble scoring goals. Mike Cammalleri leads New Jersey with 10 goals, but the club has just 58 tallies in 25 games(24th in the NHL). Jaromir Jagr leads the Devils with 15 points, but the future Hall of Famer is likely out of Thursday’s contest after taking a late hit from Pittsburgh defenseman Robert Bortuzzo.
Center Travis Zajac will not play due to injury and veterans Patrik Elias, Steven Gionta and Michael Ryder will be game time decisions. Elias and Gionta were also injured on Tuesday, while Ryder was a healthy scratch.
Winger Leo Komarov took to the ice for the first time on Thursday for the Leafs optional morning skate for the first time since being hit from behind from Washington’s Alex Ovechkin on Saturday, but will not play against New Jersey.
Leo Komarov is taking part in today's skate. #hello #TMLtalk pic.twitter.com/ToC5nZ2F5D
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) December 4, 2014“It’s in the medical staff’s hands and they’ll take whatever they deem necessary to make sure he is 110% right before he comes back.… The Leafs coach said following practice on Wednesday.
The Leafs have the luxury of being extra careful with Komarov due to their quality depth at forward and the recent return of Joffrey Lupul and David Booth to the lineup. Komarov had been off the ice for four days and could be ready to return on Saturday against Vancouver.
After a maintenance day off the ice, Daniel Winnik also did skated at ACC on Thursday and is likely to be in the lineup against New Jersey. The Leafs forward was hit low by Stars defenseman Jason Demers in the second period and blocked a shot on the penalty kill on Tuesday.
Goalie Jonathan Bernier is expected to make his seventh consecutive start.
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