The Leafs took 47 shots last night against Montreal and walked away with a grand total of zero goals.
Growing pains were to be expected under new coach Craig Berube, but there were some good signs in the third period with Auston Matthews and John Tavares creating some chances.
The Devils are back from a lengthy break after starting their season 2-0 in Germany, and they’ll quickly turn to Jacob Markstrom in net after allowing just the one goal in his team debut.
Off a break, this might slightly advantage the Leafs, but for a team that has notoriously struggled in the second game of a back to back, the safer play might be Over the Total Goals.
Utah hits the road for the first time coming off an season-opening win over the Blackhawks on Wednesday.
Defensively, the NHL’s newest team looked sharp blocking 25 shots, but this is a much different test against a well-rounded Islanders outfit that will have full support of the home crowd in Nassau County.
Offensively, Utah gave the puck away over 20 times against the Hawks, and if that’s the case against the likes of Matt Barzal and the rest of this Isles team that averaged nearly three goals a game last year, it could be a long night.
Tricky start to the season for the Pens with back to back games against the Rangers and Red Wings.
Pittsburgh was shut out 6-0 last night on home ice, and now take a quick trip north to Detroit to face a young and upcoming Red Wings team hungry to start the year on a winning note.
Veteran Tristan Jarry is set to start in net for the Penguins coming off a tidy 2023 season that saw him average less than three goals against with a win/loss record of 19/25.
On a more positive note, Jarry has been money against the Wings, holding them to an average of 2.01 goals for a 4-1 record across five starts.