Auston Matthews netted three goals and an assist, leading the Toronto Maple Leafs to a thrilling 6-4 comeback victory over the New Jersey Devils on Monday night.
Mitch Marner contributed a goal and two assists, and Ilya Mikheyev added a goal and an assist. Jason Spezza also found the net as the Maple Leafs secured their fourth consecutive win. Jack Campbell started in goal but was replaced midway through the first period after allowing three goals on nine shots. Petr Mrazek took over, making 19 saves to secure the win.
“Jack hasn’t been at the level he set for himself, but neither has the team in front of him,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe remarked. “That’s on us. We haven’t done enough to support him. He’s been our backbone.”
Despite earning a trip to the NHL All-Star game, Campbell has struggled recently, conceding 16 goals in his last nine-plus periods.
“Our start wasn’t good,” admitted Matthews, who now boasts 28 goals in 38 games. “We didn’t give Soup (Campbell) much help. We gave them too many Grade-A chances.”
New Jersey’s Jesper Boqvist recorded a goal and an assist, while Pavel Zacha, Andreas Johnsson, and Nathan Bastian also scored. Akira Schmid made 27 saves for the Devils, who have lost five straight.
The Devils held three separate two-goal leads and were up 4-2 entering the third period.
“We were in a good position against a strong team but fell short in the end,” said Devils assistant coach Alain Nasreddine. “We gave them too many chances in the third, and they capitalized.”
The Maple Leafs, trailing 4-2 after two periods, began their comeback when Spezza scored 4:16 into the third period. Marner then equalized with 6 1/2 minutes remaining, thanks to Michael Bunting’s hustle after a faceoff. Bunting retrieved a loose puck and passed it back to Matthews, who set up Marner for his sixth goal in six consecutive games.
Mikheyev put Toronto ahead with a short-handed goal on a rush with Alex Kerfoot with 3:04 left, and Matthews completed his hat trick with an empty-netter in the final minute.
“We just played our game in the third period,” Marner said.
The comeback victory followed the Maple Leafs’ rally from a two-goal, third-period deficit against the Detroit Red Wings two days earlier. It also denied 21-year-old Schmid his first career win.
“We had a good plan for the third period but failed to execute it,” Zacha said. “We let them get too many chances in front of the net. We have to learn from this.”
The Devils struck first, with Zacha scoring just 47 seconds into the game, followed by Boqvist making it 2-0 at 6:20. Matthews responded 13 seconds later to pull Toronto within one.
After Johnsson restored New Jersey’s two-goal lead at 9:10, Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe called a timeout, delivering a stern message to his players and replacing Campbell with Mrazek.
Matthews brought Toronto back within one with a tip-in goal late in the first period, but Bastian extended the Devils’ lead to 4-2 at 7:33 of the second period.
SOMBER MOMENT
The Devils were without head coach Lindy Ruff, who left the team to be with his family in Warburg, Alberta, following the passing of his 88-year-old father, Leeson.
UP NEXT
- The teams will complete their home-and-home series in New Jersey on Tuesday night before the All-Star break.
