Sunday, the New Jersey Devils beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-0, on the road. Connor Hellebuyck secured his first shutout as the Devils scored twice in the second and third period to lock down the win. The Devils won their fifth straight to improve to 13-5-0, meanwhile the Leafs loss drops them to 8-9-1.
Recap
Period One
The first period was a sloppy one from both sides. The Devils had a power play and a handful of shots, but nothing of much note. Toronto also struggled for much of the frame, but had some decent opportunities that Hellebuyck shut down. After a slow first period, the two teams were locked at 0.
Period Two
The second period was when the Devils started to tighten up on defense, and eventually on offense. Part way through the period, a faceoff win and a great pass by Declan Chisholm set up Timo Meier for his first goal in 10 games. Just a few minutes later, Meier deflected a Jack Hughes shot to double the Devils lead. New Jersey was able to lock down the remainder of the frame and would head to the break up 2-0.
Period Three
After a strong start to the period, the Devils got a couple of power plays. The first one was unsuccessful, being stymied by the Leafs’ defense. The second one, however, resulted in a Devils goal. Jesper Bratt found Jack Hughes in the slot, whose shot was whacked home by Nico Hischier for the Devils third of the night.
Hellebuyck was able to shut down everything that went his way, which wasn’t much as the Devils were lockdown on defense. As the clock ticked closer to zero, the Leafs pulled the goalie, which allowed Connor Brown to fire home his fourth goal of the season to ice the game. The Devils won their fifth straight to down the Leafs 4-0.
Game Notes
Hellebuyck’s Strong Night
Coming into Sunday night there was some chatter about Hellebuyck’s play as a Devil. While he’s had some good games and great moments, his last two goals allowed in the third against St Louis last Thursday brought out the doubters. He responded by shutting down the Toronto Maple Leafs. Hellebuyck made 23 saves on 23 shots holding a 2.26 goals saved above expected (GSAx).
While it’s already been announced that he won’t be playing in his return to Winnipeg on Tuesday, he’s proved that’s not because of his play.
Meier’s Funk Is Over
Coming into Sunday, Timo Meier had just one goal on 65 shots (1.5%). He tripled his season total in one period. Many believed once he got one, things could fall into place, and that seemed to be the case tonight. If this team has been great so far, imagine if they could get production out of Timo Meier.
What’s Next
The Devils finish up a three-game road trip with a game Tuesday in Winnipeg. Puck Drop is set for 7:30 pm ET.