Thursday night, the New Jersey Devils (26-15-5) took on an old friend of their head coach, the Toronto Maple Leafs (27-16-2). In these teams’ last encounter, Toronto was able to steal the win in overtime, courtesy of Auston Matthews. This time, Toronto would repeat history with another overtime win to steal the win, 4-3.
The matchup is a special one for Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe, as he coached the Maple Leafs for nine seasons before joining New Jersey. Being back in Toronto also means he is able to reunite with his family, who still reside in Toronto.
The first period commenced with high energy immediately as the puck bounced from one zone to another. Then, two minutes into regulation, Jack Hughes (18) would be left alone in front of the net and he’d make an impressive shot to get the puck past Toronto goaltender Joseph Woll. Hughes gave New Jersey an early lead of 1-0 from Jonathon Kovacevic (12). Toronto pressured the Devils even more than before after the goal. With six minutes left, both the Leafs and Devils would be given penalties, one on Paul Cotter for tripping and one to Mitch Marner for hooking.
No goals would be scored during the 4-on-4 and the period ended with the Devils holding a 1-0 advantage.
New Jersey’s defense is a huge contributor to keeping Toronto on a leash, as they were able to lock down the blue line and also keep the puck in their offensive zone. The Leafs ended this period down by one because of the fact that there were no player guarding the front of the net.
The start of the second period would immediately greet Devils goaltender, Jacob Markstrom with some high danger shots, and he’d surprisingly block all of them to keep the score at 1-0. Markstrom has been incredibly reliable between the pipes lately for New Jersey, but William Nylander (25) would find his weak spot and find his way to the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1. His goal would be assisted by Max Domi (13) and Christopher Tanev (13).
At this point during the period the Devils offense would be lacking, but after a penalty was called on Toronto’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson, they’d be awarded a power play, which gave them some hope to turn things around. Nico Hischier (21) would be the one to bring some momentum to the team as he’d snipe one past Joseph Woll from Jesper Bratt (37) and Jack Hughes (36) to give the Devils the lead once again at 2-1. The momentum wouldn’t last long though as the Leafs would start to dominate the puck. The Devils would uphold strong defense though and the period would end with a score of 2-1 New Jersey.
Both teams would come out for the third period with hopes to sustain or gain the lead. The tables would turn though as the Devils would be the ones to have control over the puck, they’d lose some fire though as a penalty would be called on Jonas Siegenthaler for tripping. Toronto would take advantage of this power-play and Auston Matthews (16) would be the one to tie it up from William Nylander (21) and Bobby McMann (1). New Jersey would have a chance to fire back though as they’d be awarded a power-play only a few seconds after Toronto finished theirs.
Once again Nico Hischier (22) would save the game as he’d net his second of the night on the powerplay to make the score 3-2 Devils. He’d be assisted by Timo Meier (17) and Jack Hughes (37). Toronto would respond back fairly quickly though as Auston Matthews (17) would score his second of the game to tie it 3-3, the goal would be assisted by Mitch Marner (47) and Jake McCabe (11). Toronto would continue pressure New Jersey after the goal in attempt to gain the lead. Both teams would be unable to score though, and the Devils would head to overtime for the fourth game in a row.
Overtime would start and Luke Hughes would almost get one in, but it would miss the net. Then, off an unlucky bounce Marner would send it to William Nylander (26) who would score, and win it for Toronto to end their three-game losing streak. The Toronto Maple Leafs would win the game 4-3.
It’s obvious the Devils are struggling to produce offense lately, as their top six has been carrying the scoreboard. To see wins roll in, the bottom six will need to start contributing more.
New Jersey plays their next game Saturday, January 18 back at Prudential Center against the Philadelphia Flyers.
