Fresh off a big, dramatic win over hated rivals, the New Jersey Devils went back to what they’ve been doing for most of 2016-17: losing games while getting beaten in 5-on-5 play. Tonight, it was against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Devils lost 2-4.
There were some twists in this loss. The Devils would make it close on the scoreboard; that fourth goal against was an empty netter. The Devils would end the game even with the Leafs in shots at even strength and went ahead overall due to special teams. However, the opposition went up early, didn’t lose their lead, and had numerous shifts where they were asserting their dominance.