On October 21, the Toronto Maple Leafs hosted the New Jersey Devils for their first game of the 2025-2026 season. The Devils wanted to keep their four-game win streak alive, while the Maple Leafs wanted to get back in the win column. It was the Devils who would extend their win streak to five games with one 5-2 victory over Toronto.
Summary of the game
The Maple Leafs struck quickly and early in the first period. Six minutes into the game, William Nylander had the puck in the faceoff circle. He passed it off to Oliver Ekman-Larsson at the blue line. He shot, but it was John Tavares who put the puck into the net. Toronto had two power play opportunities, while the Devils had one in the second half of the first period. However, the score remained unchanged at the end of the first inning, with the Maple Leafs leading 1-0.
One minute left and the second period is underway, the Devils putting things in order. Brett Pesce passed the puck along the boards to Jesper Bratt. He sent it to center ice to Jack Hughes. He took a shot to tie the game. The Maple Leafs challenged for goaltender interference, but the goal was ruled fair. The Maple Leafs went to the box and the Devils earned a power play opportunity.
They did not miss that opportunity. With eight seconds left on the extra-man advantage, Luke Hughes passed the puck to Timo Meier in the faceoff circle. His shot was saved by Anthony Stolarz, but Cody Glass grabbed the rebound and scored to give the Devils the lead.
A minute later, Arseni Gritsyuk stole the puck away from the Maple Leafs in their offensive zone. He passed it off to Luke Glendening at center ice. In a 4-on-1, he passed the ball to Brenden Dillon who was standing in front of the goal. He scored to give the Devils a two-goal lead.
Three minutes later, Nylander scored a break in front of the net. He had Matias Maccelli on his wing and he sent a quick pass to him. He made an attempt to bring Toronto within one.
With four minutes left in the second period, Bratt stole the puck from the Maple Leafs in their offensive zone. He sent the pass across the ice to Jack Hughes in the Devils’ offensive zone. With no one defending him, he quickly skated onto the net to give the Devils another two-goal lead.
In the third period, both teams had a power play opportunity, but did not take advantage of it. As time in the game began to dwindle, Toronto pulled Stolarz from the net. While the Maple Leafs had an extra man on the ice, Bratt stole the puck from them and sent it across the ice to J. Hughes. He took the shot and with a lucky bounce it hit the empty net and scored his third career hat trick.
Next up
The Devils head back to New Jersey to play the second game of their back-to-back. They will host the Minnesota Wild tomorrow, October 22nd. Toronto still has a few days to wait until their next game. They travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabers on Friday, October 24.
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