The New Jersey Devils fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs at home on Friday night in the Prudential Center after a shootout by a score of 4-3. The Devils have now lost three of their last four games, but 90 points still has them in sixth place in the Eastern Conference and in the playoffs if the season were to end today. The Maple Leafs have 74 points, which puts them in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, eight points behind the eighth-place Washington Capitals.
After a scoreless first period, the Maple Leafs struck first when Tyler Bozak scored a goal at the 13:47 mark in the second. He was followed by Nazem Kadri, who scored another Toronto goal at the 14:56 mark in the same period. Then, at the 18:57 in the second, the Devils got on the board with a Jacob Josefson goal.
In the third, Toronto's David Stecke gave the Maple Leafs a 3-1 lead before New Jersey came back to tie things up with a Zach Parise goal (10:57) and a Adam Henrique goal (15:18), forcing overtime. Neither the Devils nor the Maple Leafs were able to score in overtime, sending the game into a shootout.
The Devils went first in the shootout and Ilya Kovalchuk scored on the team's first attempt. He was matched by Toronto's Tyler Bozak on the Maple Leafs' first attempt. New Jersey's Zach Parise scored on the team's second attempt and they were once again matched by Toronto, this time by Tim Connolly. New Jersey's Patrik Elias missed the team's third shot, which opened the door for Toronto, and they took advantage of the opportunity as Nazem Kadri sent the team's third attempt into the net, ending the game.
The Devils will attempt to bounce back on Sunday in Pittsburgh against the Penguins at 7 p.m. (ET) and the Maple Leafs will try to build off their win on Saturday at home against the Rangers at 7 (ET).
For more on the Devils, head to In Lou We Trust, and for more on the Maple Leafs, head to Pension Plan Puppets. To follow the Devils through the season, follow SB Nation New York's StoryStream.
