Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils

Joel Edmundson returned to the Maple Leafs lineup for the second half of a home-and-away series against the now-eliminated Devils. The Leafs are looking for their fourth straight win as they try to overcome home court advantage in their last four games. (7 p.m. EST, Sportsnet Ontario).

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Game Day Quotes

Joel Edmundson on his impressions of his new team after watching him in the press box:

Everyone talks about how offensive this team is, but even the young forwards with little defensive experience are back in the zone and playing solid defense. The top guys feel heavy on their sticks. A tough team to play in the defensive zone. It was fun to watch.

Edmundson witnesses Auston Matthews' 70-goal chase:

I am happy to be on this side now. As the years go by, you will see him making similar moves every year. Every year in corner battles, he's harder to beat. His staff is heavy. Everyone knows his offensive ability, but he's a 200-foot player. It's amazing to watch.

Edmundson missed time with an injury shortly after joining the team:

It was disappointing, of course, but we have a lot of strong defenders who can jump. They played hard. It makes it a little easier, but hockey is never fun to watch.

If it was the playoffs, I'd totally take it. It wasn't that big of an injury. We wanted to make sure I was 100% before we went back.

I feel 100% now. I've been skating for the past two weeks. I feel good.

Edmundson on getting to know Toronto's defense group:

I played with Morgan in junior high. We are all very close. Most guys are chatty people who like to talk and have fun. I feel like I'm sitting next to someone new in the locker room every day. I try to pick their brains.

Matthew Knies on the success of the fourth line (Knies – Kampf – Gregor) in New Jersey on Tuesday:

Playing simple, playing hard and playing physical. The line did a great job of playing down the goal line and getting chances at the net.

Devils head coach Travis Greene on his impressions of seeing the Leafs often over the past few weeks:

It's no secret, especially in Toronto, where everything is magnified: they are one of the best teams. They are deep. They have four rows. They can get guys to line up.

It's the same in their D. They are deep in the back. There's no reason why they shouldn't be one of the top teams – and they are right now.

Green on Joel Edmundson's return to Toronto lineup:

I saw it a lot in my youth. He's a big guy and a competitive player. He is tall. He's been the best defender in the league for a long time. This is a good addition for them.

Green on Devils draftee Graham Clark will play his second game in NHL history tonight in Toronto:

It will be an interesting game. I spoke to him quickly to make him laugh and smile a little. When you're an Ontario kid, playing in Toronto is going to be special.

He was probably a little nervous. I told him to just enjoy and take it all in. We played it with Nico. Our wings can get a little mixed up. We have several young men in our ranks. We can adapt as we go.

“Green Devils” play without hope for the playoffs:

You're always worried when you're coaching a team, and there will come a time when you don't make the playoffs. You worry about a little bit of a mental breakdown, but it goes back to what we've been talking about since day one with our personality and being a team that can win in the long run and win in the playoffs.

As long as you like to win and you are very competitive, it doesn't matter if you play hockey or checkers. You play the right way.

Sheldon Keefe on his concern about a team deviating from its game plan to make sure Auston Matthews hits 70:

Am I worried about this? Not mandatory. I think the guys did a good job. It was good.

I look at the goals scored by the team and the goals scored by Auston, the process was good. The boys did not cheat the game. They didn't force anything.

I know if Auston should play goalie or not. He was going to leave. He was the next man. He didn't want to be 4 to 6 – that's not the situation he's going to play in, and to me it's forcing him. 6 on 5 he was the next guy. We could not change the line we wanted at that time.

For me, the boys go out and play. This is the best way. If you want to add to your goal, just go out and play. These are good players who dominated the game. Just go out and go the right way.

It's amazing what Auston has achieved, isn't it? The number is growing. No one in the league has hit that number, which is great.

Auston feels better now. He has a lot of energy. You can see it in his game. You can see it by talking to him. You can see how he interacts with his teammates. He plays with a free mind. You can see it there.

We will continue on this. He's a big part of our team process and he scores through it.

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Head-to-head stats: Maple Leafs vs. Devils

In preseason stats, the Leafs have the edge over the Devils in five of five offensive categories and three of five defensive categories.

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The designed lines of the Toronto Maple Leafs

Forwards
#59 Tyler Bertuzzi vs. #34 Auston Matthews vs. #11 Max Domi
#74 Bobby McMann vs. #91 John Tavares vs. #16 Mitchell Marner
#89 Nick Robertson vs. #29 Pontus Holmberg vs. #88 William Nylander
#23 Matthew Kneese vs. #64 David Kampf vs. #24 Connor Dewar

Defenders*
#44 Morgan Rielly vs. #46 Ilya Lyubushkin
#55 Mark Giordano vs. #78 TJ Brodie
#2 Simon Benoit vs. #20 Joel Edmundson

*Official pairings will not be announced until the line-up during warm-ups

Goalkeepers
Starter: No. 35 Ilya Samsonov
#60 Joseph Wall

Drawn/rested: Martin Jones, Noah Gregor, Ryan Reeves, Jake McCabe, Conor Timmins
Injured: Calle Yarncrok, Timothy Liljegren

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New Jersey Devils designed lines

Forwards
#95 Graham Clarke – #13 Nico Hischier – #63 Jesper Bratt
#28 Timo Meier vs. #56 Erik Haula vs. #91 Dawson Mercer
#18 Ondrej Palat vs. #15 Shane Bowers vs. #10 Alexander Holtz
#23 Curtis McDermid vs. #11 Chris Tierney vs. #25 Nolan Foote

Defenders
#43 Luke Hughes vs. #6 John Marino
#88 Kevin Bach vs. #2 Brendan Smith
#71 Jonas Ziegenthaler vs. #17 Simon Nemec

Goalkeepers
Starter: #34 Jake Allen
#40 Akira Schmid

Injured: Jack Hughes, Thomas Nosek, Dougie Hamilton, Nathan Bastian, Curtis Lazar, Kaapo Kahkonen