Those New Jersey Devils, who are a long way from the Metropolitan Division’s doormat — poised, lightning-quick, mature and confident — are an entirely different animal. The rest of the NHL, if they haven’t already, should take note. Yegor Sharangovich scored 57 seconds into overtime and Vitek Vanecek made 25 saves as the Devils beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 for their 11th straight win. “We’re a really good team,” said Hischier, who put his club up 2-1 in the second period, after New Jersey’s final victory statement. “And we believe in each other.” Saragovic buried his fourth goal of the season with a rebound after Jack Hughes made the initial shot off an intercepted pass by Leafs captain John Tavares at the end of a long Toronto defensive zone shift. “We get the puck back and you give it right back to them,” Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said. “It can’t happen.” Jesper Bratt had the other goal for the Devils (14-3-0), who have won 11 straight for the third time in franchise history. The Florida Panthers had their longest winning streak of last season at 13 contests. “We just don’t think about the streak,” Sharangovich said. “We’re only thinking about the next game.” New Jersey also snapped an eight-game losing streak against Toronto dating back to April 2018 and won at Scotiabank Arena for the first time since October 2017. “We’re just finding ways, playing for each other,” said Devils winger Erik Haula, who scored Bratt’s equalizer in the first. “We play as a team and have a lot of fun.” Auston Matthews, with a goal and an assist, and William Nylander answered for the Leafs (9-5-4), who got 30 stops from Murray. Mitch Marner added an assist to push his point streak to 11 games, the longest active streak in the NHL. “We got ahead of ourselves at times and gave them free goals,” Keefe said. “They didn’t beat themselves up at all. “That’s how you win 11 in a row — you don’t beat yourself.” Down 2-1 with Murray on the bench for an extra attacker, Nylander tied it with his eighth on a shot that beat Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler with 2:09 left in regulation. “Weird game,” Matthews said. “Especially in the third period when he scored a goal, I just couldn’t do much. “But a strange game, to be honest.” Hischier tied it 1-1 at 3:02 of the second on a 2-on-1 when he broke his ninth up. Making his first home start for Toronto since a groin/abductor injury in mid-October, Murray cut the deficit to one three minutes before the break when he robbed Hughes. The Leafs went on their fifth power play with just over five minutes left in the third, but Vanecek robbed Matthews on a chance before Nylander tied it late. Matthews opened the scoring on the man advantage at 15:15 of the first, thanks to some poor coverage in front of Vanecek. The sniper’s eighth of the campaign made him the top scorer in the history of Scotiabank Arena — formerly the Air Canada Center — with 141 goals in 210 games on the field to pass Mats Sundin (140 goals in 318 games). But the Devils responded 24 seconds later with some equally suspect defensive structure that left Bratt alone in front to set up the seventh. “We’re playing really good hockey,” Hischier said. “It won’t be easy to play against us.” Toronto learned firsthand that Thursday. MATTHEWS DISAPPOINTED BY WORLD CUP DELAY Matthews was asked about the NHL’s decision to push the proposed World Cup — envisioned for February 2024 — back a year because of Russia’s war in Ukraine. “Tough thing to follow,” said last season’s 60-goal player. “It seems like it’s always changing.” The stars of the game haven’t participated in a true best-on-best event since the 2014 Olympics. The league skipped the 2018 Games before the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to pull out of the 2022 tournament. “Everybody would like to see this from the players’ point of view and the fans’ point of view,” said Matthews, who grew up in Arizona. “Some of the best hockey you’ll ever see. “Hopefully it will be resolved.” NIKO FOR SELKE? Devils head coach Lindy Ruff sees Hischier as a future Selke Trophy winner as the NHL’s top defensive forward — perhaps sooner rather than later. “He’s a power-play guy, he’s one of our top penalty killers,” Ruff said of the New Jersey captain. “Look at where he is with his game away from the puck, I actually think he should be in the running this year. “If he can stay healthy, his two-way game is right up there with (five-time Selke Patrice winner) Bergeron.” NEXT Leafs: Host Buffalo on Saturday. Devils: Visit Ottawa on Saturday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on November 17, 2022.
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