Devils try to win Toronto Wild game | THE STORY OF THE GAME

TORONTO, Ont. – The Devils dominated the Maple Leafs 6-5 in an action-packed, back-and-forth contest that saw a total of 11 goals. Timo Meyer and Jesper Bratt scored two goals each, while Noaln Foote and Erik Haula scored one goal each. New Jersey ended the season series with two of three wins against Toronto and snapped a two-game losing streak with the win.

“We said before the game it was going to be a tough game,” shared interim head coach Travis Green. “At this time of year, you want your team to show their personality. We talked about it from day one. A lot of resilience in our game tonight, they scored early, very attacking team here. It was important for us to respond right away and it's a great building to win.”

“It was a fun game to play,” Meyer shared after the game. “I thought it wasn't perfect, but I thought we did a great job. Bratt had a big goal at the end. It definitely feels good. It doesn't matter where you are in the season, it's fun to win and we have a great group and obviously we didn't get what we wanted this year, but tonight shows that winning is fun.”

The first minute of the game was wild with both teams scoring quickly. John Tavares opened the scoring in 18 seconds. Mitch Marner took the puck and found the Toronto captain, whose shot beat Jake Allen. The Devils responded quickly as Eric Haula scored 21 seconds later to tie the game at 1-1.

Both teams traded chances over the next six minutes before Auston Matthews scored his 67th goal of the game with a layup from the slot.

As before, the Devils responded again, this time two minutes later. Nolan Foote took the pass and headed it into the goal. Once there, he used some powerful moves to get past Ilya Samsonov and tie the game at 2-2. Foote's goal was his first of the year and a big moment for the forward, who has had to recover from two separate injuries this season, and Thursday was just his second of the season.

“It's really nice to help the team, especially,” Foote said after the game. “It feels good to have a big game here and get a win.”

Nicholas Robertson's backhand past Allen for Toronto's third goal 66 seconds later; however, the Devils contested for offsides and won, keeping the game tied.

The first penalty of the game came on 12 minutes when Max Domi brought down Luke Hughes. The Devils gave New Jersey a 3-2 lead on Timo Meyer's one-timer. Jesper Bratt and Hughes had assists. It was a great game by the Devils, especially with Toronto's penalty kill under a lot of pressure.

“We worked well as a unit,” Meyer explained on the power play. “Everybody bought in. You talk to the Power Play coach beforehand with the scout, but everybody has to be on the same page and work, and I thought we did that tonight and we were rewarded with big goals that helped us win the game tonight.”

Toronto scored two goals 17 seconds apart to tie the game at 3-3 and take a 4-3 lead. Matthews shot the puck in the second half of the night and David Kampf was left open in front of Allen and he was able to score.

A battle broke out in the second half of the second period after Simon Nemec pinned Auston Matthews along the wall and Max Domi quickly connected with Nemec in response. Both players had a scrimmage and Domi's push penalty gave the Devils a strong performance. New Jersey was unable to score on the man advantage and trailed Toronto late in the second period.

“It's a part of the game that maybe hasn't been played before,” Bratt said. “I think he did a great job. He's a young kid who hasn't been in those situations, but he's going to respond and he's going to energize the team and we've got a lot of guys giving him a lot of credit for supporting his good work.”

With just 11 seconds left in the middle frame, Meyer scored his second power play goal of the night, a quick shot after a faceoff to tie the game. The goal was his 27th goal and 50th point of the season. Assisted by Nico Hischier.

The Devils' power play ended with another goal by Jesper Bratt in the final nine minutes of the third period. It was Bratt's 26th goal of the season and gave New Jersey a 5-4 lead. Hughes and Meyer collected assists as the trio contributed to the power play goal for the second time Thursday night.

In the final five minutes of the third period, Tavares scored his second goal of the night to tie the game at 5-5. With 74 seconds left in regulation, Bratt scored his second goal of the night to put the Devils back up, this time 6-5. With their goalie pulled and the Maple Leafs pushing hard, Ondrej Palat was called for a free kick with 42 seconds left. With a great effort, the Devils' penalty was further boosted, denying Toronto the equalizer.

“There's a lot of back and forth and they're a really good hockey team, and it's been fun to be a part of,” Foote said. “Everybody did their job and (stuck with it) and everybody had a big role, we just stuck with it and got a good (goal) in the end.”

“I think today we showed how strong a team effort we can make and come back to in these very tough, emotional games,” Bratt said. “It's a fast-paced game, there's a lot going on, teams are coming back, sometimes there's an emotional rollercoaster with games like this and we stuck with it and got a big win, that's something we should feel good about as a team. .”