John Tavares, Maple Leafs players explained how they were able to beat the Devils

The New Jersey Devils will play the Washington Capitals on Saturday night at Capital One Arena. The team suffered its first loss of the season on Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was not a pleasant homecoming for the Devils, especially after their strong performance in Prague. However, every loss comes with a lesson. Pucks & Pitchforks had the chance to speak with a few Leafs players postgame about how they were able to pounce on the Devils early.

We just wanted to jump on the forecheck. I think all four lines can do that very, very well: play a heavy game, wear teams down, force turnovers, and be strong around their net. We talked a lot about winning net fronts. That really showed in the first period. [They] came up big, made some great plays, and built a nice lead for us.

The Leafs jumped out to an early 3-0 lead thanks to their bottom-six. Max Pacioretty, Bobby McMann, and Steven Lorentz all got into the scoring column. The star players including Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares didn't even register a point in the first period. To add insult to injury, that was also McMann's season debut and goaltender Dennis Hildeby's NHL debut. After getting shutout for the first time in 252 games, the Leafs bounced back strong.

I think it was more of [us] focus[ing] on our game and getting pucks behind their D. If we do that, then we have the bodies, speed, and skill to make plays and find the back of the net.

We just came out hard. I think they obviously had a tough schedule coming back from Europe...I've been through something like that before. It's kind of tough to get your legs back going. It's the NHL and you gotta come prepared. I think we did a good job just coming firing on all cylinders. It's not the prettiest game that our fourth line plays, but it's effective, and obviously, you can see the results when we're rolling over.

Even though Sheldon Keefe couldn't get "revenge" on his former team, it's still a long season. Similar to what the Leafs did to them, the Devils need to have a short memory, maintain their physicality, and not be so "top heavy". Everybody has to play their specific role. Because failure is inevitable, but how you respond to failure will determine whether or not you're a playoff-caliber team.