Credit: All About The Jersey
Devils Dominate Offensive Play, Persevere for 4-3 Shootout Win Against Maple Leafs
Published: Wednesday, March 4, 2026
by Ryan Nelke
NEWARK, N.J. - The New Jersey Devils (31-29-2) came back to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs (27-24-11) 4-3 in the shootout on Wednesday night, requiring late game heroics to pick up their third straight win.
Before puck drop, the Devils honored the USA women’s hockey team for bringing home the gold medal in the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. The ceremony included three players from the team, including Aerin Frankel, Haley Winn, and was highlighted by the golden goal scorer, Megan Keller.
Out of the gates, the Devils instantly applied offensive pressure, getting several decent looks, but not manufacturing anything from those opportunities. Instead, it was Matias Maccelli who put Toronto on the board first, ripping one past New Jersey netminder Jacob Markstrom on a straight away shot. Dakota Joshua and Simon Benoit would record the assists.
About two and a half minutes later, New Jersey answered, with Timo Meier rocketing a one timer past Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz, a shot that seemingly caught him off guard. Nico Hischier and Dawson Meier would be credited with the assists. This continues a trend for Meier, who has typically elevated his play in the month of March, resulting in him acquiring the nickname, “Meier Madness.”
With just under four minutes remaining in the first period, Cody Glass would be charged with a slashing minor coming on an Austin Matthews breakaway. Toronto would fail to score on the man advantage, and it would stay the way for the remaining minutes of the period, with the contest at a 1-1 tie going into the intermission.
To begin the second frame, Jonathan Kovacevic would be called for a delay of game penalty 81 seconds in, sending Toronto back to the power play. In the closing seconds of the man advantage, Easton Cowan would fling a shot to the net from the blue line which would be redirected by William Nylander, putting the Maple Leafs back on top, 2-1.
Immediately after the goal, New Jersey would send Toronto right back to the power play, as Brenden Dillon would be called for a cross checking minor. This time, seconds after the New Jersey penalty came to an end, it would be Arseny Gritsyuk catching Stolarz off guard once again on a one-timer set up by Jesper Bratt. Nico Hischier would get the secondary assist.
The Devils would get their first power play opportunity of the game with just under 11 minutes to play in the second, coming on a Brandon Carlo cross checking minor. Despite several good looks, New Jersey would come up empty. The Devils would get another chance a few minutes later on an interference minor from Philippe Myers, but would get stopped once more.
New Jersey got one last power play with 1:20 left in the period off a Joshua hooking minor, but would not score before the end of the frame, leaving 40 additional seconds on the man advantage for the third. The score would remain tied at two going into the second intermission.
Throughout the third, New Jersey continued peppering Toronto with countless shots on net, as they were outshooting them 40-21. However, it would be Matthew Knies who would break the 2-2 deadlock, capitalizing off a rebound from a shot by John Tavares, securing a 3-2 lead.
With the clock slowly winding down and the Devils searching for the equalizer, they would find it at the 2:21 mark when Gritsyuk set up Connor Brown to tap it in past the outstretched Stolarz, sending the home crowd into a frenzy. Luke Hughes would register the secondary assist.
The game would go off to overtime at a 3-3 stalemate, and despite New Jersey dominating the majority of extra time, they still could not prevail, and the contest was off to the shootout.
Paul Cotter was first for New Jersey in the shootout, and as expected, came up clutch with the opening score. Markstrom would stop Nylander, and Bratt would follow it up with another goal for the Devils. Matthews came up as Toronto’s last hope, but Markstrom shut the door, solidifying the 4-3 shootout win.
Following the win, New Jersey will continue their long homestand as they host the rival New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon, with puck drop set for 3 p.m.
Ryan Nelke is an Assistant Sports Director and can be reached at nelkerya@shu.edu.Posted in: sports,