Nico Hischier tallied a goal and two assists, Jake Allen made 42 saves, and the New Jersey Devils defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 on Tuesday night.
“Our goalie played phenomenal in the first,” said New Jersey interim coach Travis Green. “The speed and the skill of their team took us a little while to catch up.”
Despite being outshot 25-10 in the first period, the Devils led 2-1. Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe expressed frustration as the Devils capitalized on the Leafs’ errors.
“Instead of having a strong second period and building on it, we overdid it,” Keefe said. “It was really immature all the way through our game. Our most experienced players and leaders were immature, and our inexperienced guys made many mistakes.”
Jack Hughes scored twice, including an empty-net goal, and Timo Meier contributed a goal and an assist for the Devils, who have won four of their last five games. Luke Hughes and Max Willman also found the net for New Jersey. Jesper Bratt added three assists, and Curtis Lazar had two.
Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 59th goal, while William Nylander and Tyler Bertuzzi scored for Toronto. Joseph Woll made 19 saves, and T.J. Brodie added two assists.
“I don’t think that’s stuff you want to see in your game at this point in the year,” Matthews said of his team’s sloppy play. “We’ve got to make sure we’re dialed in for 60 minutes.”
The Maple Leafs are third in the Atlantic Division, with the postseason approaching. New Jersey entered Tuesday’s game five points out of the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot.
“It is rattling,” Nylander said. “We’re capable of a lot better.”
Toronto played without injured forward Mitch Marner (high ankle sprain), goaltender Ilya Samsonov (undisclosed), and defensemen Morgan Rielly (upper-body injury) and Joel Edmundson (undisclosed).
Nylander scored on Toronto’s first shot of the second period at 3:14, marking his consecutive 40-goal season. Matthews added his 59th on a breakaway at 4:51, but the Devils responded 46 seconds later with Meier’s 24th goal.
Willman scored his second goal of the season at 13:05, pouncing on a loose puck to give the Devils a 4-3 lead through two periods.
Jack Hughes extended the lead on a breakaway, scoring his 25th with 3:13 left in regulation, and then sealed the win with an empty-net goal.
The Maple Leafs opened the scoring 64 seconds into the game when Bertuzzi beat Allen for his 16th goal. The Devils tied it at 4:25 with Luke Hughes’ ninth season goal.
UP NEXT
- Devils: At Buffalo Sabres on Friday.
- Maple Leafs: Host Washington Capitals on Thursday.
