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New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes (86) scores against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the second period at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday night.John E. Sokolowski/Reuters
Sheldon Keefe was all smiles outside the visiting locker room Tuesday night as he finally got one over on his old employer.
However, despite the New Jersey Devils rolling to a 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs – thanks in large part to Jack Hughes’s third career hat trick – the former Leafs bench boss said the victory had come a little late for his liking.
“We’re a year late for it meaning a whole lot,” he said, having gone 0-3 against Toronto last season. “… It’s a special place for me and it always will be.”
Whatever his state of mind in the moment – and after spending almost five full seasons in Toronto before his dismissal in May 2024, it would be understandable to have mixed emotions – he was certainly in a happier place that his successor behind the Toronto bench.
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After revamping his top line once again – with Max Domi drawing in on the wing for rookie Easton Cowan, who was a healthy scratch – Craig Berube was frustrated that it produced little of note, with the trio on the ice for New Jersey’s first goal at the start of the second period.
That goal – a wrist shot from Hughes – opened the floodgates, with the Devils scoring three times in three minutes and 27 seconds, although the second of those was on the power play that came from Berube unsuccessfully challenging the first for goaltender interference.
“It’s obviously not good enough,” the Leafs head coach said of the Matthews line. “I don’t feel like they have any sustained pressure in the offensive zone at all. It’s one and done, or out.
“… I’m getting tired of it to be honest with you.”
On the positive side, at least the second line has started to click. Berube was saying much the same things about the William Nylander/John Tavares-led line earlier in the season, but that duo in particular have turned things up a notch of late.
Tavares got Toronto on the board with the first goal of the game – his fourth of the season and 498th of his career – with Nylander earning an assist on that and also on Matias Maccelli’s first goal as a Maple Leaf. It marked the fourth consecutive game that Nylander has had a multi-assist outing, and the Swede now leads the team with 11 assists and 13 points.
However, both Matthews and Tavares used the word “sloppy” to describe the team’s play.
The second period in particular has been an Achilles heel for the team, with many of the team’s four losses so far – three in regulation and one in overtime – stemming from losing control in the middle stanza.
“We have to be smarter with the puck and the way we’re managing the game,” Tavares said. “And a team like that, with the way they can skate and how quick they are in transition, obviously it really hurt us, and then [we’re] chasing it from there.”
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New Jersey Devils left wing Ondrej Palat (18) and Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz (41) vie for control of the puck during the second period of their game in Toronto on Tuesday.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
Having called out his teammates following Saturday night’s loss to the Seattle Kraken, goaltender Anthony Stolarz was in a more complimentary mood on Tuesday night, saying that his teammates were “battling” and talking up their backchecking and ability to block shots.
However, he also took responsibility for the Devils’ fourth goal, which came on a slap shot by Hughes which beat him on the short side.
“That’s one you want back,” said Stolarz, who finished with 30 saves on 34 shots. “You want to be able to go into third period, get the guys a fighting chance, and be able to keep it a one goal game, and at that point anything can happen.”
As it turned out, Hughes was the only one to find the net in the third period, rolling the puck in from centre ice for an empty-netter with 30 seconds remaining to complete his hat trick and extend the Devils’ winning streak to five straight.
Having wrapped up their five-game home stand, the Maple Leafs now make the briefest of road trips, visiting Buffalo for the first game in a home-and-home series with the Sabres Friday and Saturday. And they may do so without defenceman Chris Tanev, who left the game in the second period with what the team is calling an upper-body injury, with Berube adding that it’s “possible” he may miss time.
