Anthony Stolarz did everything he could, saving 44 of 47 shots, but it was not enough to break Toronto’s losing streak. The Maple Leafs fell to the Devils 4-3 in a shootout.
The Leafs entered Wednesday night’s game immersed in a downward spiral. and surrendering to the reality of not making the playoffs. Their most urgent concern is the trade deadline, which necessitated making Scott Laughlin, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Bobby McMann inactive. Whether any or all are moved before Friday at 3 pm remains to be seen, but Toronto was not going to take any chances of injury.
The filled-in lineup looked lost on defence for most of the game, relying heavily on the spectacular play of goaltender Stolarz, but in the end, even he could not stop the inevitable.
Toronto took the lead at 5:26 of the first period. Matias Maccelli scored his 11th of the season, ripping home a beautiful Dakota Joshua feed by Jacob Markstrom to make it 1-0. New Jersey tied the game at the 7:55 mark. Timo Meier scored his 17th of the year, beating Stolarz with a snap shot from the face-off dot.
Toronto regained the lead early in the second period on the power play. Easton Cowan fired a shot that ricocheted off William Nylander and past Markstrom, making it 2-1.
The Devils re-tied the game at 6:06 of the middle frame. Arseny Gritsyuk scored the equalizer with a rocket one-timer from just behind the circles.
The two teams remained deadlocked going into the third period. New Jersey dominated play for the majority of the final twenty minutes, but could not figure out Stolarz.
It looked like Toronto might steal a victory when Matthew Knies tipped in a rebound off a John Tavares shot for the go-ahead goal at 13:50. That thought was just a fleeting one, however. The Devils never stopped pressing, and at 17:39, Gritsyuk centred a pass to the goal crease that Connor Brown tapped in to even the score 3-3.
Neither team scored again in regulation, and the five-minute overtime produced no goals. For the second straight game, Toronto was in a shootout and suffered the same fate. Paul Cotter and Jesper Bratt converted their attempts for the Devils, Auston Matthews and William Nylander missed theirs, giving New Jersey the 4-3 win.
Next up: The Leafs are back at it tomorrow, taking on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
