Jesper Bratt scored his second goal of the game with just over a minute left, helping the New Jersey Devils secure a 6-5 victory over Toronto on Thursday night, despite Auston Matthews of the Maple Leafs scoring his 67th and 68th goals of the season.
“It was a bit messy at times,” Matthews remarked. “We didn’t seem as focused as we should have been.” Matthews now holds the record for most goals in a season since Mario Lemieux scored 69 in 1995-96.
Bratt also contributed an assist, while Timo Meier scored two goals with an assist, and Erik Haula and Nolan Foote also scored for New Jersey. Jake Allen made 27 saves, with Luke Hughes providing two assists.
“It shows the strength of our team effort,” Bratt commented, who also had an assist for a three-point performance. John Tavares scored twice for Toronto, and David Kampf added a goal, with Ilya Samsonov making 14 saves.
With the game tied at 4, Matthews took a tripping penalty in the third period, allowing the Devils to capitalize with Bratt scoring his 26th goal.
Tavares leveled the score again with his second goal of the night, but Bratt’s goal with 1:14 remaining secured the win for the Devils. “It was a loose and strange game,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “Not one that you love, but we’ll move on.”
Matthews tied the game at 3 with his 68th goal, assisted by Max Domi, marking his ninth goal in the last seven games. This goal also surpassed Mats Sundin’s record for most even-strength goals in franchise history. Matthews now has 367 goals.
“We don’t want to play this up-and-down, freewheeling style,” Matthews emphasized.
