Maple Leafs at Devils
The New Jersey Devils have earned points in six consecutive games and need to secure two more to clinch their first postseason berth since the 2011-12 season. The streaky Devils, winners of three in a row and six of seven (6-0-1), look to punch their ticket to the playoffs when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night in their final home game.
New Jersey is holding down the top wild card, leading Philadelphia by one point, but it also sits one point back of Pittsburgh and Columbus, who are tied for second place in the Metropolitan Division. "We're a motivated group," Devils center Brian Boyle said after a 5-2 rout of the New York Rangers behind a four-point performance by Hart Trophy candidate Taylor Hall. The Maple Leafs have set a franchise record for wins (48) and are locked into the third spot in the Atlantic Division, waiting to see if their first-round playoff opponent will be Boston or Tampa Bay. Toronto is on an offensive tear, winning nine of its last 12 games and scoring at least four goals in each of the victories.
TV: 7 p.m. ET; TSN4 (Toronto), MGS-Plus (New York)
ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (48-25-7): Missing a month had no adverse effect on star forward Auston Matthews, who has points in all seven games since his return from injury after scoring a pair of goals and adding an assist in Monday's 5-2 win over Buffalo. Matthews has 73 goals over his first two seasons, eclipsing the previous franchise record of 71 set by Wendel Clark (1985-87). Linemate William Nylander matched the output of Matthews and is two points shy of equaling his career high of 61 from last season.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (43-28-9): Hall continues to hear chants of "M-V-P" at home and he further enhanced his credentials by scoring twice and setting up a pair of goals to boost his career-best totals to 39 goals and 93 points. Hall has been immense down the stretch, pumping in six goals over the past four games and collecting 17 points during a nine-game streak. “If there’s anything I can take from this season that I’m proud of, it’s coming through when the games matter,” Hall said. “That’s what you want to do as a player.”
OVERTIME
1. Hall needs three points to tie the franchise single-season scoring record set by Patrik Elias in 2000-01.
2. Toronto has surrendered five power-play goals over the last three games.
3. Devils G Keith Kinkaid, who has made seven starts in a row, is 15-3-1 in his last 19.