Maple Leafs try to avenge loss to Devils

TORONTO -- The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to avenge a 6-3 drubbing administered on Oct. 11 by the New Jersey Devils when the teams meet again Thursday at the Air Canada Centre.

The question is whether the Maple Leafs will have center Auston Matthews back in the lineup.

Matthews, who has missed three games in a row with an upper-body injury, practiced Wednesday with the team for the first time in more than a week.

"Good to have him back on the ice today," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. "I don't know if he's playing (Thursday) to be honest, we'll see tomorrow morning at the skate. Medical guys will tell me what's going on and we'll make our lines accordingly."

Matthews admitted that he is not yet at 100 percent.

"If it's a playoff series, you have to find a way to play, but it's early in the season and it's something you don't want to make worse," Matthews said. "We've been pretty cautious. Been feeling better day by day, that's all you can really ask for."

"I saw today he was fine, but wasn't like he normally is," Babcock said. "Power, explosiveness, fitness. ... Anyone knows you take too many days off in hockey and takes you a while to get it back."

The Maple Leafs (12-7-0) have won four straight games, three without Matthews, who will be a game-time decision on Thursday.

The Devils (11-4-2) have won two in a row and will have center Travis Zajac back in the lineup after the practiced again with the team on Wednesday. He had surgery on a torn left pectoral muscle Aug. 17 and was expected to miss four to six months.

"He went through practice again today and looked good," Devils coach John Hynes said. "The final check will be. ... in the morning, and if all is good we expect him to play."

Zajac practiced on the second line with Jesper Bratt and Drew Stafford on Wednesday.

"At some point, you can only get so much out of practice before you have to get thrown into the fire a little bit," Zajac said this week "Get some of the rust off. You can only get so much out of practice."

The Devils have noticed some changes in the Maple Leafs since the teams met last month.

"We saw them earlier in the year and I think we're both different teams since then," said goaltender Cory Schneider, who matched his career high with 47 saves in the win at Toronto. "I think they've dialed into their defensive game a little bit better and are playing a more complete game, not just relying on their offense. You know they have the capability of putting up goals and being a high-flying team, but you can see their last few games they're doing it on both ends of the ice."

"They like moving around in the offensive position," left winger Adam Henrique said. "In that scenario we try to limit, and we try to contain, really just take away time and space in the defensive zone and not allow them to get to their cycle game."

The Devils activated Michael McLeod off injured reserve after he had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Oct. 12 and re-assigned the 12th overall pick in the 2016 draft to his junior team, the Mississauga Steelheads of the Ontario Hockey League.

Devils defenseman Mirco Mueller, who fractured his left clavicle in he 7-5 win against the Blackhawks at Chicago on Sunday, will undergo surgery on Thursday.

The Maple Leafs have not played since they completed a two-game sweep against the Boston Bruins in back-to-back games Friday and Saturday.

"We've played well here, won four in a row, chance to play Jersey, who slapped us around last time," Babcock said. "Sometimes you get a few days off and you relax. Nothing wrong with relaxing physically, but we want to be engaged mentally."

The Maple Leafs have recalled left winger Nikita Soshnikov from the Toronto Marlies and have assigned center Frederik Gauthier to the American League Hockey club on loan.