TORONTO, Ont. - In an action-packed, back and forth contest that had 11 total goals, the Devils prevailed, beating the Maple Leafs 6-5. Timo Meier and Jesper Bratt each had two goals while Nolan Foote and Erik Haula each added one. New Jersey finishes the season series with two out of three wins against Toronto and snapped a two-game losing skid with the victory.
“We talked about it before the game that this was going to be a tough game,” Interim head coach Travis Green shared. “At this point of the year you really want your team to show its identity. We talked about that from day one. A lot of resiliency in our game tonight, they score early, a very offensive team over there. For us to answer back right away was important and it’s a great building to win in.”
“That was a fun game to play,” Meier shared post-game. “I thought it wasn’t perfect but effort wise I thought we did a great job. Bratt at the end there with a huge goal. It definitely feels good. It doesn’t matter where you’re at in the season, winning is fun and we’ve got a great group and obviously haven’t achieved what we wanted this year but tonight shows that winning is fun.”
The first minute of the game was a wild one with both teams scoring quickly. John Tavares opened the scoring 18 seconds in. Mitch Marner picked off the puck and found Toronto’s Captain, whose shot went five-hole to beat Jake Allen. The Devils responded quickly as Erik Haula tied the game 1-1, scoring 21 seconds later.
Both teams traded chances over the next six minutes until Auston Matthews broke the tie, scoring his 67th of the season, with a shot from the slot.
As they did before, the Devils responded again, this time two minutes later. Nolan Foote picked off a pass and drove to goal. Once there, he used some solid moves to slip one past Ilya Samsonov to tie the game, 2-2. Foote’s goal is his first of the year and a big moment for the forward who had to rehab two separate injuries this season and Thursday was only his second game this season.
“It feels good especially to help the team,” Foote shared post-game. “It’s a big game coming in here and getting the win so it feels good.”
66 seconds later Nicholas Robertson’s backhand got past Allen for Toronto’s third goal of the game; however, the Devils challenged for off-sides and won, which kept the game tied.
The first penalty of the game came 12 minutes in with Max Domi called for slashing Luke Hughes. The Devils took advantage of the man-advantage with Timo Meier’s one-timer giving New Jersey a 3-2 lead. Jesper Bratt and Hughes picked up assists. It was a solid performance by the Devils especially with Toronto’s penalty kill pressuring hard.
“We worked well as a unit,” Meier explained about the power play. “Everybody bought in. There’s a pre-scout you do with the power play coach talks but everyone’s got to be on the same page and work and I thought that we did that tonight and we got rewarded with some big goals that helped us win this game tonight.”
Toronto scored two goals 17 seconds apart to tie the game at 3-3, and then take 4-3 lead. Matthews’ tipped in the puck for his second of the night before a breakdown in coverage left David Kampf open right in front of Allen and he was able to score.
A fight broke out in the second half of the second period after Simon Nemec tied up Auston Matthews along the wall and Max Domi quickly engaged with Nemec in response. Both players received fighting majors and Domi’s instigating penalty gave the Devils a power play. New Jersey was unable to score on the man-advantage and continued to trail Toronto late in the second period.
“It’s a part of the game that maybe he hasn’t been put in before,” Bratt said. “I think he did a great job. He’s a young kid that hasn’t been put in those situations but he responds and he gives energy to the team and we had a lot of guys gaining a lot of respect for him for what he stood up for so good job from him.”
With only 11 seconds left in the middle frame, Meier scored his second power play goal of the night, quickly shooting after a faceoff, to tie the game. The goal was his 27th goal of the season and 50th point. Nico Hischier picked up an assist.
The Devils power play continued to roll with another goal, this time by Jesper Bratt, in the final nine minutes of the third period. The tally was Bratt's 26th goal of the season and helped New Jersey take a 5-4 lead. Hughes and Meier picked up assists as it was the second time the three all contributed on a power play goal Thursday night.
In the final five minutes of the third period, Tavares scored his second of the night to tie the game at 5-5. With 74 seconds left in regulation, Bratt scored his second of the night to give the Devils back a lead, this time 6-5. With their goaltender pulled and the Maple Leafs pushing hard, Ondrej Palat was called for a tripping penalty with 42 seconds left in regulation. In an incredible effort, the Devils penalty kill came up strong once again, holding off Toronto from scoring the tying goal.
“A lot of back and forth and they’re a very good hockey team, and it was fun to be a part of,” Foote said. “Everyone doing their job and (stuck) with it and everyone had a big role and we just held with it and we got a good (goal) at the end there.”
“I think for today we really showed how strong of a team effort we can put in, and come back in these really hard, emotional games,” Bratt said. “It’s a fast paced game, a lot of things are happening, teams coming back, and sometimes there’s emotional roller coasters with games like this and we stuck with it and came out with a huge win that we as a team should feel pretty good about.”
