New Jersey outshot the Leafs 38-14 but still suffered the loss
NEWARK, NJ – The Devils dominated play against Toronto, even outshooting the Leafs by a 38-14 count. However they ran into a hot goaltender in New Jersey native Anthony Stolarz and couldn’t hold a third-period lead in a 2-1 overtime loss at Prudential Center Tuesday night.
Ondrej Palat gave the Devils a 1-0 lead with a second-period goal. That held up until Pontus Holmberg scored a shorthanded goal halfway through the third period to tie the game at 1-1.
Auston Matthews finished the game by scoring on a breakaway to give Toronto the win.
That was the first time the Devils have lost a game when leading after two periods. The club is now 15-0-1 in that situation.
Here are some observations from the game:
• Palat said he’s been focused less on his own stats and more on creating space and scoring opportunities for his linemates Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes. Palat has done a lot of the dirty work for those two, so it was nice to see him be the beneficiary on a pretty play from Bratt.
Bratt entered the zone and drew the attention of three Leafs players. No one picked up Palat above the opposite circle. Bratt fed him a perfect pass and Palat finished on the shot. That was his first goal in 11 games.
• Timo Meier pulled off one of the best defensive plays of the season for a forward against Toronto. The Devils were on a power play when the Leafs generated a 2-on-1 shorthanded try. The two Leafs? Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, two of the most dangerous offensive threats in the NHL. Meier, as the lone man back, stayed in between the two, then jumped all over Marner’s pass attempt to intercept, negating a even a shot.
• Nathan Bastian returned to the lineup for the first time since suffering a broken jaw on Nov. 1. He missed the last 16 games with the injury and returned to game action with a full-face shield.
Bastian certainly was running on adrenaline early. On his first shift he threw a big check on Chris Tanev into the boards. He then stole a puck in the neutral zone on a backcheck that created a 2-on-1 scoring chance. Bastian kept the puck and tried to go high but couldn’t beat Stolarz. The same physicality and another great scoring chance followed on his second shift.
• The Devils had about as good of an opening period as they could have asked for. They dominated zone time. They dominated play. The were suffocating in the defensive zone and bottled up the Maple Leafs’ high-powered star talent. The Devils outshot the Leafs, 15-1. So, what else could they have asked for? A goal. Despite the dominance, the game was 0-0 after 20 minutes.
The Maple Leafs wouldn’t get their second shot of the game until the 5:46 mark of the second period.

source