The Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils held optional skates at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.

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With the Blue Jays in the World Series, Toronto is now a baseball town.

“There’s a small part of you that, you’re envious of them,” said defenceman Morgan Rielly, who is the longest-serving Leafs player. “You’re almost jealous at what they’re doing, because they’re in Toronto. You watch it first-hand. You’re obviously happy for them and it’s a great moment for the city. We want to be able to do that and have a run like that.”

The Leafs have not made it past the second round of the playoffs since 2002. Toronto has won just two playoff series since Rielly was drafted by the team in 2012.

The Jays may be offering a roadmap for the Leafs as they look to finally get over the hump in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

“One of the most inspiring things for me personally watching them is it truly is a team effort,” said forward Max Domi. “Obviously they got some guys that have stepped up huge, but every single one of them has done something remarkable throughout this whole season.”

It was the bottom of the Jays order that created the opportunity for George Springer to be the hero on Monday night. With the Jays trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh, No. 7 hitter Addison Barger drew a walk before Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled on an 0-2 count. No. 9 hitter Andrés Giménez executed a perfect sacrifice bunt to move the tying runs into scoring position and raise the stress level on new Mariners reliever Eduard Bazardo.

Springer then belted a home run to give the home team a lead they would not relinquish.

“The Giménez bunt probably no one talks about because Springer hit a home run, but no one bunts really anymore and he laid a great bunt,” defenceman Chris Tanev said. “Or Barger walking to get on. Little things like that, not trying to hit a home run and being happy to get on base to let his teammates help him get home and make the game closer, I mean, there’s so many little things like that. Little things like that go into a hockey game. So, you sort of watch it and learn from that.”

How the coaches opened their media sessions today

Craig Berube: “How about those Jays! That was awesome”

Sheldon Keefe: “It’s a great day to wake up in Toronto isn’t it?”@BarDown

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) October 21, 2025

One thing several Leafs players highlighted is how close this Jays group, which was considered a longshot to make the playoffs at the start of the season, seems to be.

“Listening to each guy’s interview is really cool for me as an athlete on a team to really see how much they love each other,” said Domi. “And that’s what got them to where they are. Of course they’ve got the skill, they’ve got the talent, they’ve got everything, but they all seem to think that the most important thing is how tight they were. We know that we have a tight group in here as well.”

Leafs inspired by Jays’ run to the World Series and their team mentality From Vladimir Guerrero Jr. showing up in an Auston Matthews jersey to Game 7 to punching their ticket to the World Series. The Maple Leafs discuss the Blue Jays run and the buzz around the city right now.

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ALCS MVP Vladimir Guerreo Jr. arrived to the game on Monday wearing an Auston Matthews sweater.

“That’s pretty cool,” said Tanev. “I’m sure [Auston] was pretty fired up about that.”

“It’s awesome for him to show some love and respect for Auston,” said Domi.

Devils coach Sheldon Keefe pointed to that moment unprompted when asked about last night’s game.

“Vladdy coming in in Auston’s jersey, what a great moment for this city and for Auston and for the Leafs and for hockey for that matter,” the Brampton, Ont. native said. “For that to all come together, it’s outstanding.”

It’s Guerrero’s body language that is catching the eye of Leafs coach Craig Berube.

“I watch their guy Vladdy closely,” Berube said. “I watch how he interacts with all the guys and how much energy he brings all the time and the happiness for his teammates when they do something well. He’s always got a lot of energy and a lot of positive vibes around him, which a lot of them do, but he’s their main guy. He brings that and I think the whole team feeds off it.”

‘We all support each other’: Leafs feel the love after Vladdy sports Matthews’ jersey After Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walked into Game 7 of the ALCS with a Auston Matthews jersey on, the Maple Leafs discuss the support each team has for each other and why it was great to see.

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It’s not Game 7 of the ALCS, but the Leafs are playing the seventh game of their regular season on Tuesday and they have an opportunity to build some chemistry while making a statement.

The Leafs are off to an inconsistent start with three wins in six games and after Saturday’s overtime loss to the Kraken, Anthony Stolarz called out his team for not matching Seattle’s work ethic in the first two periods. The team had a meeting on Monday to discuss the issues raised by the 31-year-old goalie.

“We all agree and are of the opinion that we have to be better,” said Rielly. “It’s not just about Stollie. We all felt that. And so we’ve addressed it. I think it’s a great opportunity for our team to answer the bell here early in the season. And I thought it was a great moment for our team to come together and have that conversation. And now we’re back to work, which is a great feeling.”

Keefe served as Leafs coach for five seasons before Berube took over for the 2024-25 campaign. He’s certainly expecting a pushback from Toronto on Tuesday.

“I expect a motivated opponent,” Keefe said. “From my time here, anytime something like that occurs, the group rallies, and they come out with a great effort.”

The Devils have won four straight games and represent a rare early-season challenge for the Leafs, who will not face another opponent who made the playoffs last season until Nov. 9.

Leafs look to ‘answer the bell’ after Stolarz’s comments After Anthony Stolarz called out his teammates last game, the Maple Leafs look to ‘answer the bell’ tonight with the Devils in town and get back in the win column.

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Berube is shaking up his lineup for this game with Domi moving up to the top unit with Matthews and Matthew Knies.

Domi and Matthews caught fire together down the stretch in the 2023-24 season when Keefe put them together following an injury to Mitch Marner.

“Well, I know Max will be excited,” Keefe said. “Auston really enjoyed that connection when those guys were matched together. I like the line. I like the look of it.”

Domi and Matthews didn’t play much together last season and only played one pre-season game together this year. But Domi believes the chemistry is always going to be there.

“Played with him throughout the last three years on and off, so it’s not going anywhere that’s for sure,” Domi said of the chemistry.

Matthews has only scored one 5-on-5 goal so far this season.

“One of the best players in the world,” Domi said with a smile. “Makes it pretty easy on you. We’re very close off the ice and a big fan of his as a player. He’s a pure goal scorer, loves to get to those areas, so my job is to get him the puck.”

Matthews has scored 15 goals in 19 career games against Jake Allen, who gets the start for the Devils.

‘It’s not going anywhere’: Domi confident in his chemistry with Matthews Max Domi has had stints on Auston Matthews’ line over the last few seasons and he’ll get another look tonight against the Devils. Domi is confident the chemistry he’s had with his captain hasn’t gone anywhere.

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The plan was for Domi to start with Matthews this season, but Berube felt compelled to move Domi to centre after an injury to Scott Laughton depleted the team’s depth down the middle.

With Domi now back on the wing, it will be Steven Lorentz who moves to centre for the first time this season.

“It’s something I’m familiar with,” Lorentz stressed. “I played a couple of years in Carolina (2020-22) and I was kind of all over the map there and then I was centre for quite a while in San Jose (2022-23). So it’s definitely not something that’s new to me.”

Lorentz went 12-21 on faceoffs last season (36.4 per cent) but downplayed that element of the adjustment. Instead, he believes defensive-zone play will be the biggest challenge.

“It’s almost like less is more,” he said. “You don’t wanna get running around too much and just kind of run yourself out of gas. You kind of just have to be a little bit more patient and survey and work with your defence. I talked to some of those guys and we’ve got some veterans back there that obviously will help out and make sure I’m in the right spot, and if I need to go to a guy, they’ll be able to tell me.”

Lorentz will be flanked by Nick Robertson and Calle Jarnkrok to start Tuesday’s game.

“There’s obviously gonna be maybe not a learning curve, but there’s gonna be some maybe small mistakes along the way, but that’s the name of the game,” Lorentz said. “So I’m excited to get back and it’s a good challenge for me.”

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With Jarnkrok drawing back into lineup, winger Easton Cowan will be the odd man out on Tuesday night. The 20-year-old rookie had started the previous four games on the top line.

“I think he just needs a reset,” Berube said. “Get a game to watch. It’s always good for young guys to watch a game at some point, but Cowan’s in a good spot.”

Leafs Ice Chips: Keefe’s game plan not changing much with Marner gone Sheldon Keefe is back in Toronto with the Devils and explains why his approach to the Maple Leafs doesn’t change a whole lot with Mitch Marner out of the picture. Mark Masters has more from Scotiabank Arena.

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Projected Leafs lineup for Tuesday’s game:

Knies – Matthews – Domi

Maccelli – Tavares – Nylander

Joshua – Roy – McMann

Robertson – Lorentz – Jarnkrok

McCabe – Tanev

Rielly – Carlo

Benoit – Ekman-Larsson

Stolarz starts

Primeau

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