Auston Matthews scores 68 as Toronto Maple Leafs fall to New Jersey Devils

TORONTO — Auston Matthews is nearing a goal-scoring milestone.

The Maple Leafs shooter set another franchise record and passed a club icon in the process.

However, Toronto is now confident of starting the Stanley Cup playoffs on the road.

Jesper Bratt scored his second goal of the game with 1:14 left on Thursday as the New Jersey Devils beat the Leafs 6-5, the night Matthews scored two more goals for his league-leading 68th of the season.

“A bit sloppy at times,” the star center said of the overall output after scoring nine goals in the last seven contests. “It didn't seem like we had a phone call.”

Timo Meyer, with two goals and one assist, Erik Haula and Nolan Foote provided the rest of the offense for New Jersey (38-37-5). Jake Allen made 27 saves for the Devils, who are playing for pride and work after being eliminated from contention for the 2024-25 postseason. Luke Hughes had two assists.

“We showed how strong a team effort we can be,” said Bratt, who added an assist for the three-point effort.

John Tavares, two, and David Kampf scored the other goals for Toronto (46-24-9). Ilya Samsonov made 14 saves. Max Domi and Mitch Marner each had two assists. William Nylander had his 600th game of the regular season.

The Leafs are now five points behind the Florida Panthers, with three games remaining, in second place in the Atlantic Division.

Florida has two games left, including Tuesday at home against Toronto. The Panthers also trail Boston by one point, but the Bruins have three days left on the schedule.

“Wacky game, weird game,” Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said. “Not the one you love, but we're moving on.”

Looking to become the first player in more than three decades to reach 70 goals, Matthews' current total is the highest in the NHL since Mario Lemieux's 69 in 1995-96.

“Great,” Tavares said. “It's really special.”

But tied 4-4 through two periods, Matthews drew a penalty in the third and the Devils were quelled when Bratt beat Samsonov at the 26 at 11:03.

Tavares evened things up with 4:47 left when he buried his second of the night and 26 of the campaign off a Morgan Rielly layup.

But the Devils answered with 74 seconds left, Bratt rushing for his 27th.

“We don't want to play that up-and-down, loose (style),” Matthews said.

Down 3-2 after a wild and sloppy first, Matthews scored his second goal of the night and 68th of the campaign at 7:59 to an “MVP!” beat before the slogans. Rain fell from the stands at Scotiabank Arena.

The goal was the sniper's 274th all-time, passing Mats Sundin for the top spot in franchise history.

Kampf scored his eighth goal 1:17 later before Devil defenseman Simon Nemec mixed it up with Matthews. Domi took exception and dropped the gloves for the rookie, but was sent off for the next 17 minutes after a foul and foul play.

The Devils came back with 11.6 seconds left, with Mayer making his second of the night and 27th overall to tie the game at 4-4 with 40 minutes to go.

Tavares opened the scoring 18 seconds into the first period. Haula answered with 16 seconds after 21 seconds.

Matthews then passed Dave Keon for third on the franchise's all-time list in 6:08 for his 67th and 366th of his career.

“I'm glad to think for a while,” he said. “But there's a bigger goal ahead.”

Foote got it back at 7:57 when he jumped into the giveaway to open his 2023-24 season.

The Devils got their first power play of the game when Mayer scored at 12:37 and converted the second time to make it 3-2 before Matthews tied it with No. 68.

Set the stage for Saturday's final home game of the regular season, where all eyes will be on No. 34's pursuit of No. 70.

“He's rewriting the record books,” Keefe said. “Many Leafs fans have never seen so many NHL goals in their entire lives. It's really cool. Who knows where this will end?

“I wouldn't put any limits on that.”

LEAVING THE DESERT?

Matthews, a native of Scottsdale, Arizona, was questioned about the Arizona Coyotes' move to Salt Lake City, Utah next season.

“Selfish, growing up there, they were a big part of me getting into hockey, and I want them to understand that,” he said. “But you also understand the situation of the NHL.

“See what happens.”

NEXT UP

Toronto: Hosts Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.

New Jersey: Visits the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.

This Canadian Press report was first published on April 11, 2024.

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