Connor Hellebuyck stopped all 23 shots he faced as the New Jersey Devils beat the Maple Leafs 4–0 in Toronto on Sunday, handing the home team its third straight loss.

Timo Meier scored twice, while Nico Hischier added a goal and an assist and Connor Brown scored into an empty net, according to Canadian Press reporting published by CityNews.

The shutout was Hellebuyck’s first with New Jersey since his acquisition from Winnipeg last month. He also became the first goaltender in Devils franchise history to win each of his first five games with the club.

New Jersey improved to 13-5-0 with its ninth victory in 10 games. Toronto fell to 8-9-2 and has lost five of its past six games in regulation.

After a scoreless first period, Meier opened the scoring at 8:28 of the second. He circled from the sideboards into the slot following an offensive-zone faceoff and was left alone to one-time a shot past Anthony Stolarz.

Meier made it 2–0 at 12:44 when Jack Hughes’s shot deflected off him and into the net. Hischier added a power-play goal at 9:49 of the third before Brown completed the scoring. Hughes and Jesper Bratt each finished with two assists.

Stolarz made 25 saves for Toronto, which played without defencemen Morgan Rielly, who had a lower-body injury, and Chris Tanev, who sat out for maintenance. Forward Jack Roslovic was a late scratch with a lower-body injury, and Colton Sissons did not return after the second period with the same injury designation.

Hischier’s assist on the opening goal gave him 500 career points, making him the third Swiss-born player to reach that NHL milestone, after Roman Josi and Kevin Fiala.

The Maple Leafs host the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.

Sources