Devils blank Leafs without Anthony Mantha, win 5th straight

The bad news came first. Mantha took a high stick to the throat in Saturday's win over the Islanders, and by Sunday afternoon he wasn't even in Toronto.

No call-ups meant the Devils dressed 11 forwards and 7 defensemen on the back half of a back-to-back, with Brenden Dillon drawing into the lineup. Keefe told reporters Mantha will miss some time, but there's no timeline yet while he gets evaluated back in New Jersey. Evan Rodrigues slid into his spot on the second power-play unit.

Somebody had to soak up the extra shifts, and Keefe handed them to the guy you'd want. Jack Hughes jumped on with Rodrigues and Boqvist for the first double-shift and then the second one too, and by intermission he was the busiest forward on either team.

Amanda Stein

@amandacstein

Jack Hughes played 7:34 of the 1st period for #NJDevils who are playing with just 11 forwards. He's got the most playing time of both teams for forwards.

Then the 2nd period turned into the Timo Meier show. He ripped one for the opener, then about 8 minutes later parked himself in front and tipped home his second. According to the NHL.com recap, it was his first 2-goal game since April 2025, which is a long time for a guy who's paid to score like that.

Anthony Corona

@ACoronaNJD

Timo Meier with a tip in front. His second goal of the game. 2-0 Devils. #NJDevils

Nico Hischier had his fingerprints all over it. He won the draw that set up a Meier goal for the 500th point of his career, then buried a power-play goal of his own to make it 3-0. He's only the 3rd Swiss-born player to reach 500 points in the NHL, behind Roman Josi and Kevin Fiala. Connor Brown iced it with an empty-netter late.

And Connor Hellebuyck just keeps winning. Keefe gave him the extra day of rest instead of starting him in the Islanders game, and he paid it back with 23 saves and his first shutout in a Devils sweater. Since coming over from Winnipeg on Oct. 23, he's the first goalie in franchise history to win his first 5 starts with New Jersey.

Chris Johnston

@reporterchris

Connor Hellebuyck improves to 5-0-0 since joining the #NJDevils with a 23-save shutout in Toronto. Next up? His return to Winnipeg on Tuesday night.

That makes 5 straight wins and 9 of the last 10, with New Jersey up to 13-5-0, while Toronto has dropped 3 in a row. The 2 things to watch now are the Mantha diagnosis, which decides whether the Devils need a call-up or another night at 11 forwards, and Tuesday's trip to Winnipeg, Hellebuyck's old building.