Devils' 6-3 Win vs. Maple Leafs: Allen Mania

Another stellar performance from Jake Allen helped lead the New Jersey Devils to their fourth win in their last five games.

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Is the coach bump finally here? While the New Jersey Devils certainly did not play their best last night, they scrapped out a 6-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs thanks to an outstanding performance from Jake Allen. Here are three takeaways from the victory, the fourth in the team's last five games. 

Allen Rebounds in a Big Way

The Devils were under siege nearly the entire night, but specifically in the first period. Tyler Bertuzzi scored barely a minute into the game, and the rest of the period would be an onslaught from the Maple Leafs as they peppered Allen with shot after shot. 

Fortunately, the Devils scored on their first shot of the game when Luke Hughes nutmegged Ilya Lyubushkin on a rush chance. That stabilized things momentarily, but it didn't kill the Maple Leafs' momentum for long. 

The Devils were porous defensively in the first, and the Maple Leafs made them pay off the rush by gaining the offensive zone without much resistance. Once in the offensive zone, they were toying with the Devils and basically firing shots at will. 

But Allen appeared ready for the task. He made numerous ten-bell saves in the first period, including consecutive stops on Bertuzzi and Auston Matthews later in the first, the latter of which came with the glove and robbed Matthews of scoring on a grade-A chance. 

Those saves by Allen allowed the Devils to keep it at 1-1, and they eventually managed to capitalize on the counterattack when Jesper Bratt made a great pass to set up Nico Hischier for a goal on a 2-on-1. Somehow, 2-1 was the score heading into intermission, and it was because of Allen's play. 

The Devils' netminder made 24 saves on 25 shots and stopped nearly 1.5 goals above expected in the first period alone. The team settled down in the second period and did a better job limiting chances until the final horn; the Maple Leafs had 20 shots on goal over the final two periods. 

Still, Allen faced quite a bit of rubber, finishing the night with 42 saves on 45 shots while stopping 0.98 goals above expected. It was the bounce-back effort the Devils needed from him after having a tough night against the Ottawa Senators.