Early in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, it looked like it was a matter of time until they’d break out and distance themselves from their opponents.
Toronto outshot the Devils 25-10 in the first period, and even though they found themselves down 2-1, it seemed likely New Jersey would crumble under the onslaught of the Maple Leafs offensive pressure. That did come to pass in a sense, as a pair of goals from William Nylander and Auston Matthews gave the team a brief 3-2 lead, but Toronto never found its form from the first period again — and the offence dried up as Jake Allen shut the door.
Meanwhile, the Devils had little trouble beating Joseph Woll at the other end of the ice despite a low volume of opportunities. Goaltending wasn’t the only factor that decided this one, but it was the most significant.
3 Stars:
- Auston Matthews
- Tyler Bertuzzi
- Ilya Lyubushkin