The Toronto Maple Leafs always seem to turn it on when they’re down a key player or two, and Tuesday night’s 4-0 win against the New Jersey Devils was a perfect example.
It was the first time since 2021 the team played a game without either Auston Matthews and William Nylander, and the first time they played a game without that duo or Mitch Marner since 2016. The result was a big game from their depth players and a bigger game from their goaltender. Joseph Woll was excellent in the win, stopping all 33 shots to pick up his third shutout of the season and making a number of crucial saves to complement a team-wide strong defensive effort. The Maple Leafs’ goal scorers were Bobby McMann, Nicolas Roy, Calle Jarnkrok, and Matthew Knies, with Nick Robertson picking up a pair of assists, as well.
In retrospect, it was the most standard Leafs effort for a game under those circumstances. Overnight, they lost their number-one centre, arguably their number-one defenceman, and a strong depth forward, all of this while they were already missing their current leading scorer. On a night when most people would either write them off or cut them some extra slack with a loss given the situation, they showed up on both sides of the puck and took advantage of a team that had been struggling coming into this game.
Toronto would like to flush the 2025 portion of the 2025-26 season, but tonight’s effort is one that can stay and be used to build momentum. They’re finally moving the puck around and putting pucks on net, and if they can do the bare minimum by continuing this habit each night, the two points are going to start flying in their favour eventually.
The Leafs will get back at it on New Years Day when they host the Winnipeg Jets, another team with recent struggles whom they’ve had success against in the past. If they can repeat what they did against the Devils, this is another game they should win, especially if they get some of their missing pieces back.
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