Not only did the Toronto Maple Leafs suffer a second straight loss, this time against the Bruins in a 3-2 shootout in Boston, but they would also have been without the services of defenseman Timothy Liljegren for a while.
In the final moments of the first period, the Swedish defenseman fell near the boards after making contact with Bruins captain Brad Marchand (9-0-1). He writhed on the ice in pain and left the game. He never returned to the game after that.
• Also read: NHL: The Senators sink a little lower
• Also read: Barré-Boulet: from waiver to the Lightning’s 1st line
• Also read: Do the Maple Leafs have a true No. 1 goaltender?
At a postgame press conference, Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe admitted his rearguard would have to miss a significant amount of time.
On the ice, Boston quickly took a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Pavel Zacha and the first goal from Jake DeBrusk. Still, the Leafs (5-3-2) didn’t give up and tied the score with two unanswered goals in 1:03. Mitch Marner and then Auston Matthews sparkled the red light.
DeBrusk ended his night of work in style by scoring the game-winning goal in the shootout.
The Devils do it again in the Wild
Four days after their first game of the year, the New Jersey Devils (6-2-1) defeated the Minnesota Wild (3-5-2) again, this time by a score of 5 to 3.
It was Timo Meier who gave his team a 3-0 lead with his second goal of the season on a power play at the start of the middle period. Jack Hughes, in top form, was an accomplice in the net. He added a second assist on the Devils’ final goal. He now has 20 points in nine games this season.
Kirill Kaprizov, Marco Rossi and Jake Middleton responded for the Wild.