Maple Leafs Give New Jersey Devils All They Can Handle, Still Lose
The New Jersey Devils have been as fun to watch as any team in the NHL over the last few weeks. They came into Thursday night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on a ten-game winning streak. Of course, they knew that this game would be very difficult.
It looked like the Devils were in trouble when Auston Matthews gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead in the first period. Luckily, Erika Haula made a sweet play to find Jesper Bratt, who didn’t miss on the very next shift. The two goals were 24 seconds apart.
Early in the second period, Nico Hischier scored to make it a 2-1 Devils lead. It looked like the Devils were going to win the game in regulation before Auston Matthews made a great play to find William Nylander who tied the game.
From there, the game went to overtime, where literally anything can happen. Luckily, Jack Hughes made a spectacular play in overtime which allowed Yegor Sharangovich to score the overtime game-winning goal. The New Jersey Devils made it 11 straight wins.
The New Jersey Devils have won eleven games in a row after Thursday’s win.
This is the first time since the 2005-06 season that New Jersey has won 11 straight games. It is one of the most impressive feats in team history. This team is good, but the Maple Leafs gave them everything they could handle.
You can add the Leafs to the list of great teams that the Devils have beaten on this streak. Nobody can say that this winning stretch has been easy by any means.
Of course, they have taken care of business against teams like the Vancouver Canucks, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Arizona Coyotes, but they also have very good wins against teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Avalanche, Calgary Flames, and Edmonton Oilers.
There have been overtime wins, come-from-behind wins, and blowout wins, which makes it clear that this team can earn victories in more than one way. They do a lot of the little things right, which has allowed them to succeed.
After facing this Maple Leafs team that is very difficult to beat, they have an off-day on Friday before meeting the Ottawa Senators in Canada’s capital on Saturday afternoon.
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It is a game that the Devils should win on paper but the Senators are going to give them everything they can handle. There is officially a target on the back of this Devils team.