Toronto downs Devils in OT

In Newark, the New Jersey Devils could not hold a 4-3 lead in the third period in their match with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

John Tavares scored a power play goal near the mid point of the final frame to get the teams even at 4-4.

William Nylander pushed the Maple Leafs to OT win over New Jerswey Devils 0 file photo by Lewis Bleiman

William Nylander finished off the small rally when he scored midway through extra time for a 5-4 win for the Leafs, their sixth straight win.

The game-winner was directed in the Devils net by New Jersey defenseman Damon Severson,

“It was a harmless play, but I put it completely, accidently, into the goalie and obviously he was not expecting it on the play,” Severson said. “I was just trying to protect the puck and then get it out of harm’s way. I just hit it by accident into our own net.”

Michael Hutchinson made 24 saves to get the win.

Kyle Palmieri, Nico Hischier, Nikita Gusev and Jesper Bratt scored for the Devils.

Zach Hyman and Kasperi Kapanen had goals for the Maple Leafs.

“It wasn’t pretty overall, but we just kept staying with it,” Tavares said. “I think we know over the last couple of games that we’ve got to tighten up at times. At the same time, I think we’ve controlled play a lot and generated offense. We just have to be smarter with the puck at times and understand teams are trying to really sit on those counterattacks when we sustain a lot of possession. We’ve got to be aware of teams going the other way.”

Ilya Mikheyev had a goal for the Maple Leafs, but was cut by a skate blade and left the game.

“First and foremost, we’re thinking about [Ilya]” Tavares said, ” It was obviously scary, seeing that much blood. He’s a guy we care deeply about and was having a great night, playing tremendous for us, so thoughts are with him.”

[WATCH: All Maple Leafs vs. Devils highlights]

Mackenzie Blackwood made 32 saves in the loss.

“It’s a player trying to do the right thing with the puck in an area where it’s not dangerous and it just came off of his stick wrong,” Devils head coach Alain Nasreddine said. “Is it frustrating to lose that way? Yes, but we can’t fault the player. He’s trying to do the right thing. I guarantee you [Severson] is not trying to put the puck in the back of our net. It was just an unfortunate bounce.”