Maple Leafs score seven against Devils to avoid third straight loss
Matthews, Tavares each has goal, assist; Kadri has three assists
via NHL.com
Nazem Kadri had three assists for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 7-2 win against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Tuesday.
It was the first three-point game for Kadri since he had a hat trick and two assists against the Columbus Blue Jackets last season on Feb. 14 (a 6-3 win).
“For us, we hadn’t been getting the results we’ve wanted to get over the past week, week and a half, and it was about time for us to stand up and I thought we responded well,” Kadri said. “I don’t gauge whether I play well or not depending on the point system.”
John Tavares and Auston Matthews each had a goal and an assist, Connor Brown tied his NHL career-high with three assists, and Frederik Andersen made 27 saves for Toronto (22-10-2), which avoided losing three straight games for the first time this season.
Sami Vatanen and Nico Hischier scored, and Keith Kinkaid made 16 saves for the Devils (11-14-7) before he was pulled after the second period. Mackenzie Blackwood made eight saves in his NHL debut for New Jersey, which lost for the 12th time in 15 games (3-6-6).
“Our group in here, we can’t take nights off,” Devils forward Taylor Hall said. “Tonight was not our best. When we don’t play our best, unfortunately right now, we’re not going to get wins. We have to play very well to get wins and that has to be our focus for the next game.”
The offence was red hot as Leafs down Devils 7-2.
Here are tonight's @OntarioLottery Game Winning Numbers.#LeafsForever #That649Feeling pic.twitter.com/A3A4NmuUet
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) December 19, 2018