New Jersey Devils fourth liner drills Toronto Maple Leafs player with a knockout blow

The New Jersey Devils are a wagon, beating the bricks off the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night. The score ended 5-2, but it could have been so much worse. Anthony Stolarz stood on his head, but the Devils were relentless and scored at will.

There’s so much to talk about here, including Jack Hughes’s hat trick, but the moment at the end of the game is what everyone is talking about.

With the game pretty much over after a Hughes empty-net goal, Leafs defenseman Simon Benoit wanted to show some fight (about 10 minutes too late). He decided to challenge fourth liner Brian Halonen to fisticuffs, and the fourth liner obliged.

Halonen is desperately trying to hold onto his spot in the lineup with Stefan Noesen returning soon. Halonen was playing with Dennis Cholowski in practice this week, which meant he was going to be a healthy scratch. Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe wanted to wait one more night, so Halonen got another chance to impress the coaching staff before taking a turn in the owner’s box. 

He definitely made an impact.

Halonen played well, as the fourth line (along with Luke Glendening and Paul Cotter) played well throughout the game. They had long shifts in the offensive zone, and they got themselves some chances, including a few wraparounds by Halonen himself. 

However, it was the fight with Benoit where he made his mark; both on the ice and on Benoit’s face. Halonen was losing the fight at first, struggling to get his skates centered. He did have Benoit moving backwards, so those three punches he took did very little damage compared to the absolute strike he had to end it.

Brian Halonen delivers final blow to Maple Leafs after 5-2 victory

It was the perfect explanation point on a near perfect night for the New Jersey Devils. Winning this game, which is the first time Sheldon Keefe won as a visitor in Toronto, was very important for the team. This was a desperate Maple Leafs team that was just called out by their goalie. Devils coming out with this effort, and with Halonen showing toughness taking on a player who is four inches taller than him, this might be a team that has all the right pieces in place.