New Jersey Devils 5-1 Boston Bruins
It was a great night for the New Jersey Devils as they topped the Boston Bruins 5-1 at home. But, it was the guests who opened the scoring 5:50 into the game via Morgan Geekie. They even went into the first intermission with the lead.
Things changed quite quickly in the second. Dawson Mercer needed just 84 seconds into the second frame to level the score. A couple of minutes later, Dougie Hamilton put the Devils in front on a power play. Things stayed like that until the final four minutes of the period. A pair of goals 12 seconds apart - first by Stefan Noesen, then by Mercer again - gave New Jersey a 4-1 lead.
Heading into the third, the Bruins made a goaltender change. Mustering only 10 shots in the final period, they were unable to overturn the deficit, let alone score again. Nico Hischier added a fifth with 6:28 left in the game as the Devils managed to get through the final few minutes for the victory.
New Jersey stay fifth in the Eastern Conference despite the win which ended a four-game losing skid. As for Boston, they are still tied for the last play-off spot along with the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens.
Toronto Maple Leafs 1-5 Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets returned to winning ways with a 5-1 success over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Adam Fantilli got things going with a shorthanded goal 4:20 before the end of the period.
Former Leaf James van Riemsdyk doubled his current employers' advantage midway through the second period before Fantilli added a second less than two minutes later. Despite outshooting the Blue Jackets 48-29, the Leafs could never truly get going from a scoring standpoint. Things got worse for them six minutes into the third as Luca Del Bel Belluz converted another chance to make it 4-0.
The Leafs would get on the board with 10:38 left in the game, as Auston Matthews scored to give them a glimmer of hope. That hope would barely last, as Fantilli completed his hat-trick a few minutes later on an empty net. Although Toronto outshot Columbus in each period, they just could not find the back of the net, and ultimately fell to defeat.
The Maple Leafs remain second in the East, with the loss ending a three-game winning run. They have some time off before they visit the Senators on Saturday. As for Columbus, they jumped into seventh spot and back into a play-off place. They have no time to rest, however, as they head to Carolina to face the Hurricanes on Thursday night.