NHL

Toronto Maple Leafs at New Jersey Devils

· National Hockey League
Final
4 - 3

Matthews' late power-play goal gives Leafs win over Devils

Michael Bunting tied the game on a rebound with 4:50 to play, and Calle Jarnkrok and Mitch Marner also scored for the Leafs. Ilya Samsonov was outstanding, making 30 saves.

Erik Haula had two goals and an assist and a stitched-up Ondrej Palat had a goal and two assists for New Jersey, which is now 17-4-3 since Jan. 7. Vitek Vanecek had 21 saves for the Devils.

Matthews, who had not scored in the past three games, got his 29th of the season on William Nylander's second nice setup of the game. It came a minute after Timo Meier was sent off for high-sticking.

The Maple Leafs, who are 9-0-2 in their last 11 with New Jersey, twice took the lead only to see the Devils tie it.

Jarnkrok gave Toronto its first lead at 7:30 into the second period, tapping in a cross-ice pass by Nylander.

Haula tied the game with 3:03 left in the period, beating Samsonov in close after Marner failed to clear a loose puck in front of the crease.

Marner redeemed himself 4:57 into the third period with a short-handed goal. He stole the puck from Meier in center ice and beat Vanecek in close after a deke.

Palat, who needed stitches to his upper lip area after a high stick to face, tied the game a little more than a minute later, putting in his own rebound on the Devils' second power play of the season.

Three minutes later, Haula put New Jersey ahead 3-2 with a deflection in front. Bunting then put a rebound into an open net to tie the game with 4:50 left. It was his 20th goal.

Game notes
Recently acquired Leafs C Ryan O’Reilly had surgery to repair a broken finger on his left hand, coach Sheldon Keefe said. He is expected to be out four weeks. ... C John Tavares did not make the trip. ... C Pontus Holmberg and RW Alex Steeves skated on the fourth line a day after being recalled from the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. ... Devils LW Yegor Sharangovich and D Brandon Smith were healthy scratches.

UP NEXT

Maple Leafs: Host Edmonton on Saturday.

Devils: At Washington on Thursday.

Regular Season Series

TOR wins series 2-1

Scoring Summary

Goal 2nd Period 7:30 Calle Jarnkrok Goal (14) Wrist Shot, assists: William Nylander (42), Sam Lafferty (12)
Goal 2nd Period 16:47 Erik Haula Goal (6) Snap Shot, assists: Ondrej Palat (10)
Goal 3rd Period 4:57 Mitchell Marner Goal (23) Wrist Shot, assists: none
Goal 3rd Period 6:00 Ondrej Palat Goal (8) Backhand, assists: Dawson Mercer (25), Erik Haula (25)
Goal 3rd Period 9:02 Erik Haula Goal (7) Tip-In, assists: Ondrej Palat (11), Jesper Boqvist (8)
Goal 3rd Period 15:10 Michael Bunting Goal (20) Snap Shot, assists: David Kampf (16), Justin Holl (12)
Goal 3rd Period 17:07 Auston Matthews Goal (29) Snap Shot, assists: William Nylander (43), Mitchell Marner (56)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/tor.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTOR https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/nj.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originNJ
15 Blocked Shots 8
14 Hits 20
7 Takeaways 7
25 Shots 33
1 Power Play Goals 1
2 Power Play Opportunities 4
50.0 Power Play Percentage 25.0
1 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
28 Faceoffs Won 22
56.0 Faceoff Win Percent 44.0
2 Giveaways 8
3 Total Penalties 2
8 Penalty Minutes 4
New Jersey Devils New Jersey Devils Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Brett Pesce, D Out Mar 6
Zack MacEwen, RW Injured Reserve Jan 10
Stefan Noesen, RW Injured Reserve Jan 10
Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Maple Leafs Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Chris Tanev, D Injured Reserve Mar 4

Game Information

Prudential Center

Location: Newark, NJ
Attendance: 16,514 | Capacity:

2025-26 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Buffalo 40 19 86 6
Tampa Bay 39 20 82 4
Montreal 36 18 82 10
Detroit 36 22 79 7
Boston 36 22 78 6
Ottawa 32 23 73 9
Florida 32 29 67 3
Toronto 27 27 65 11

2025-26 Metropolitan Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Carolina 41 17 88 6
Pittsburgh 32 17 79 15
NY Islanders 37 23 79 5
Columbus 33 21 76 10
Philadelphia 30 23 71 11
Washington 32 27 71 7
New Jersey 32 30 66 2
NY Rangers 26 30 60 8
Full Standings