The Devils are in the fourth wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The New Jersey Devils won their second straight game Tuesday night, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 at Scotiabank Arena. Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Curtis Lazar each earned three points.
For the 51st time this season, the Devils surrendered the game's opening goal. It took the Maple Leafs 64 seconds to beat goaltender Jake Allen. Tyler Bertuzzi scored his 16th goal of the season after getting behind the Devils' defense. Max Domi and T.J. Brodie collected the assists. Bertuzzi's goal extended his point streak against New Jersey to seven games, dating back to Feb. 25, 2020.
Minutes later, at the 4:25 mark of the period, rookie defenseman Luke Hughes tied the game on New Jersey's first shot. His wrist shot beat opposing netminder Joseph Woll. Hischier and Bratt earned the assists on Hughes' ninth goal of the season. It marked Bratt's 70th point of the season.
It was Hughes’ 40th point of the season, which tied Scott Nidermayer for the third most points that a rookie defenseman earned in a single season.
With two minutes remaining, Timo Meier moved the puck up the ice to Bratt. A two-on-one emerged with Hischier and Bratt skating into the offensive zone. The captain's wrist shot beat Woll, giving New Jersey the lead.
After 20 minutes, Toronto had a 26-8 shot advantage over New Jersey but trailed 2-1. Allen found himself under siege most of the opening frame and made 24 saves.
"Jake played phenomenal in the first," interim head coach Travis Green said. "I felt like, in the first, the speed and the skill of their team took us a little while to catch up to it. I thought once we got settled into the game after the first I thought we were good in all areas."
A little over three minutes into the second period, William Nylander scored his 40th goal of the season. Defenseman Conor Timmins and winger Matthew Knies tallied the assists. A little over a minute later, Auston Matthews potted his team-leading 59th goal of the season, giving Toronto a 3-2 lead.
Meier scored his league-leading 13th goal of the month seconds after Matthews' goal. It marked his second point of the night. Bratt and Hischier earned the helpers, collecting their third point of the night
New Jersey regained its lead with Max Willman's second goal of the 2023-24 campaign. His linemates, Chris Tierney and Curtis Lazar, were credited with the assists.
The Devils were outshot 35-20 after 40 minutes but skated into the second intermission with a 4-3 lead. Entering Tuesday night's game, the Devils earned a record of 23-2-1 when leading after two periods.
In the third period, Jack Hughes collected his team-leading 25th and 26th goals. The first was on a breakaway, while the second was an empty netter. With his assists on Hughes' goals, Lazar finished the game with three assists, which marked the veteran forward's second-career three-point game. Per the media notes, the effort also marked a career-high three assists in a single game.
UP NEXT: The Devils will face the Buffalo Sabres on Friday, Mar. 29.
LINES:
Timo Meier - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt
Jack Hughes - Erik Haula - Alexander Holtz
Ondrej Palat - Tomas Nosek - Dawson Mercer
Max Willman - Chris Tierney -Curtis Lazar
Kevin Bahl - John Marino
Luke Hughes - Nick DeSimone
Brendan Smith - Simon Nemec
Jake Allen
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