Auston Matthews scored two goals, but the Maple Leafs lost the game and are out of the playoffs

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At one stage, it looked like Auston Matthews would open the door to 70 goals a night.

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The Maple Leafs then lost the game and the playoff race to the New Jersey Devils in a 6-5 loss for home ice advantage. With Florida's win against Columbus, Toronto has a five-point deficit on the second-place Panthers with three games to make up, including the last match at Sunrise.

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After the pace of his first two goals, reaching 68, leaving Dave Keon third in the club's history with 366, his line was boosted by a well-aimed defensive effort by Max Domi. The latter received a fumble, a major and a misdemeanor in retaliation when Simon Nemec threw out Matthews.

“I've seen it with my own eyes, Auston and (Nemec) fighting and I'm not a fan of it,” Domi said.

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Much to the delight of his teammates and coach Sheldon Keefe, left wing Tyler Bertuzzi set up a triple with an extended layup late in the third period. At that point, the Leafs let the Devils and Jesper Bratt's winner play the last of three power-play goals with 74 seconds left.

“Max responded to a situation that needed to be addressed,” Keefe said. “But it affects the game. Not only does it kill penalties, it disrupts bench traffic for 17 minutes. But in the end, you have to manage the game (under such adverse conditions). It was a strange game.”

Matthews is two shy of becoming the first NHL player to reach 70 since Alex Mogilny and Timu Selanne had 76 in 1992-93. As well as surpassing Keon, he also surpassed Mats Sundin for the most consistent goals in club history (274). But he served a rare minor when he put Brett Jersey up 5-4.

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“He was sloppy at times, didn't dial in like we needed him to,” Matthews said. “They have a lot of speed and skill and if you're careless with the puck, they make you pay.

“With three games to go, you want to make sure we're focused on those little things.”

Domi's departure led to a special committee of Tavares, William Nylander and Marner, with Marner also joining Matthews and Bertuzzi.

NOT SPECIAL

In addition to the three power-play goals, a season-high, Toronto's unit was 0-for-3 and gave up one shorthanded.

“We don't seem to be on the pace,” Tavares said of the latter. “Moving the puck or putting the puck in the net, or the kids going to the net, how do we recover pucks. We have to be as direct as possible and we have some very good players when we get up to speed.”

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Tavares closed the scoring for Toronto.

LONG NIGHT TO SAMMY

After doing such a good job of keeping his once-horrendous save percentage close to .900 since mid-January, Ilya Samsonov has given up six goals on 20 shots.

“We hung him out to dry early in the game,” said Keefe Tavares' first-minute goal on a poorly cleared rebound by Erik Haula and Mark Giordano's open pass to Nolan Foote. “It was special for us and it will be great next time. I had a number in mind before the game, and his only (six, now seven) losses in regulation was incredible.”

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WING DING FOR AUSTON?

Now the focus shifts to Saturday and whether Matthews can cash in two in the final regular-season game against the Red Wings at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

“That would be great, and 70s is a nice round number,” Keefe said. “What he's doing now, a lot of Leafs fans have never seen so many goals. Wherever this ends up, it's great to see.

“I saw him tonight for the first time, maybe he forced it a little bit after he got it the second time. (Mathes) forced it on him and he started to break down. But he doesn't need that, just play the game and it will find its way to his wand.'

Both goals involved Bertuzzi and Domi shooting pucks in a now-familiar scenario, Domi knocking one in the air and getting Matthews in the face, Bertuzzi coming to Domi behind the net who was patiently waiting for Matthews in blue paint.

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THE GAME HAS STARTED

The first 13 minutes of the game had a few things going for both clubs, including a rolling timeout for the Leafs' late Rodion Amirov.

Nick Robertson scored devastating goals in consecutive games when the Devils' video test caught him offside. He remained in the lineup for bruiser Ryan Reaves, with Nylander and Pontus Holmberg on the third line, and the exciting fourth-string offense continued for Matthew Knees. Connor Dewar returned to the line and set up David Kampf for Toronto's fifth goal, a nice spin-o-frame from the big man.

Quarterback Jake McCabe was given an extended night off, which Keefe called time to recover from bumps and bruises. Joel Edmundson returned to the blue line after eight games with what was eventually determined to be a hamstring injury.

Jersey coach Travis Greene, who was eliminated by the Leafs two days ago, urged his team to stay focused, and they responded.

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