TORONTO -- Sheldon Keefe coached 150 regular-season games at Scotiabank Arena when he was with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2019-24. So to say his trip to the arena on Thursday was familiar, right down to the traffic on the Queen Elizabeth Way, is fair.

Few Maple Leafs coaches have exited as gracefully as Sheldon Keefe did and the Devils bench boss sees his return to Toronto as the final cutting of the cord.

When: Thursday, 7 p.m., Scotiabank Arena TV: TSN4 Radio: TSN 1050 Odds: Devils -102, Maple Leafs -122 The buzz If the Maple Leafs are beaten by the Devils in Sheldon Keefe’s return, they’ll do something that never happened during his tenure as coach in Toronto: Lose four games in a row in regulation.

With Tavares out for at least four games, a Maple Leafs team that was already light on centre depth will now see its options tested.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been dealt a significant blow with John Tavares landing on injured reserve due to a lower-body injury sustained in practice. The franchise announced Thursday that Tavares is listed as “week-to-week,” with his earliest possible return set for Jan. 25 against the Ottawa Senators.