The Toronto Maple Leafs lead the New Jersey Devils, 3-0, after the second period tonight at the Prudential Center.
The Devils led the period in shots, 10-9. They hold the advantage in total shots, 17-14.
Leading 1-0, John Mitchell extended his team's advantage to two at 8:45 of the period. Kris Versteeg drove toward the net and put a shot on goal. Martin Brodeur stopped the initial shot, but the puck laid in the crease near his right pad. Mitchell chipped the puck up over the pad for his second goal of the season.
Nikolia Kulemin pushed the lead to 3-0 at 17:23 of the period. Clarke McArthur fed Kulemin in the slot, and he drifted into the left circle. With MacArthur screening, Kulemin whipped a shot past Brodeur for his 12th goal of the season.
Ilya Kovalchuk and Dion Phaneuf dropped the gloves at 4:54 of the period. The players almost dropped the gloves in the first period. Kovalchuk skated away from that meeting, but didn't ignore Phaneuf the second time. The Leafs' captain hit Kovalchuk in the face with his stick, and both players came together in the corner. Phaneuf threw an elbow into Kovalchuk as the Devils left-winger slashed Phaneuf's stick. Both players tangled, and Phaneuf landed more punches in the ensuing scrum.
The Devils powerplay, a strength the past few weeks, is 0-for-2 tonight. They've failed to connect on their last six chances.
New Jersey has only one come from behind victory this season.