Auston Matthews scored 2:51 into overtime to help the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Tuesday night in Newark, N.J.
Matthews pushed past Devils defenseman Brett Pesce on a partial breakaway and slid the puck past Jacob Markstrom to win the game. This goal was Matthews’ ninth of the season and his fourth in the last five games.
Pontus Holmberg of Toronto scored a short-handed goal in the third period, and New Jersey native Anthony Stolarz made 38 saves to help the Maple Leafs win.
Despite having only 16 shots compared to New Jersey’s 39, Toronto won its ninth straight road game against the Devils.
Ondrej Palat scored for the Devils in the second period, and Markstrom made 14 saves for New Jersey.
The Devils had a scare late in the second period when star player Jack Hughes was hit hard by Toronto’s Max Pacioretty. However, Hughes stayed in the game.
New Jersey dominated the first period with a 16-1 advantage in shots but could not score. In the second period, they broke through at 7:16 when Jesper Bratt picked up a loose puck after a poke check by defenseman Morgan Rielly. Bratt passed to Palat, who scored from the slot for his fourth goal of the season and first since Nov. 12.
New Jersey kept the lead until 10:42 of the third period, when Connor Dewar cleared the puck from the defensive zone. Holmberg followed the play and scored his second goal of the season, tying the game.
Toronto’s Max Domi returned from an eight-game absence due to a lower-body injury and had two shots on goal.
New Jersey’s Nathan Bastian also made his return after missing 16 games due to a broken jaw and had three shots on goal.
