TORONTO — James Reimer made 31 saves and Phil Kessel snapped a scoreless tie late in the third period to lift the Maple Leafs to a 2-0 victory over the Devils on Monday night despite recording only 12 shots.
Kessel broke the deadlock with a power-play goal at 13:28 of the third, and Jay McClement scored into an empty net with 36.6 seconds left to back the stellar goaltending of Reimer, who earned his third shutout of the season.
Toronto, aiming for its first postseason berth since 2004, is 9-1-4 in its past 14 games.
The Devils lost for the 10th straight time (0-6-4) and were blanked for a second consecutive game, following their 2-0 home defeat to Ottawa on Friday. They haven't won since star forward Ilya Kovalchuk went out with a shoulder injury.
New Jersey, the defending Eastern Conference champion, is in 11th place, six points below the postseason cutoff with six games left.
After a scoreless first two periods, Reimer took over midway through the third. He stopped Adam Henrique with a great pad save, and after New Jersey's Andy Greene hit the post, Reimer robbed Patrik Elias from in tight.
Game highlights: Scott Hartnell had three goals and the visiting Flyers snapped a four-game losing streak with a 7-3 victory over the Canadiens. Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek each had a goal and two assists as the Flyers matched their season high for goals. … Ryan Kesler had two goals and Roberto Luongo made 36 saves to lead the visiting Canucks to their fifth win in six games, 5-2 over the Predators. Nashville, which has lost a franchise-high seven consecutive games, was eliminated from postseason contention.
Oilers fire GM: The Oilers fired general manager Steve Tambellini and replaced him with former Edmonton coach Craig MacTavish. Tambellini, 54, was in his fifth season with Edmonton. The Oilers are on the verge of missing the playoffs for a seventh consecutive season, standing 12th in the West before Monday's games.
Around the league: Penguins star Sidney Crosby skated before practice, wearing a protective mask over his broken jaw. Coach Dan Bylsma said there is no timetable for Crosby's return. … The Coyotes signed forward Tobias Rieder to a three-year, entry-level contract.
at Maple Leafs | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Devils | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First Period—None. Penalties—Zidlicky, NJ (tripping), :49; Orr, Tor (charging), 11:34.
Second Period—None. Penalties—Sullivan, NJ (holding), 3:59; O'Byrne, Tor (interference), 7:10; O'Byrne, Tor (slashing), 9:59.
Third Period—1, Toronto, Kessel 16 (Phaneuf, Franson), 13:28 (pp). 2, Toronto, McClement 8 (Fraser), 19:23 (en). Penalties—O'Byrne, Tor (delay of game), 8:56; Zidlicky, NJ (holding), 13:20; Gionta, NJ (roughing), 19:39; Phaneuf, Tor (roughing), 19:39. Shots on Goal—New Jersey 9-7-16—32. Toronto 3-2-8—13. Power-play opportunities—New Jersey 0 of 4; Toronto 1 of 3. Goalies—New Jersey, Brodeur 10-8-7 (12 shots-11 saves). Toronto, Reimer 17-5-5 (32-32). A—19,425 (18,819). T—2:28. Referees—Francis Charron, Stephen Walkom. Linesmen—Derek Amell, Steve Barton.
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Explore all your optionsFlyers | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
at Canadiens | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
First—1, Philadelphia, Simmonds 13 (Couturier, L.Schenn), 2:45. 2, Philadelphia, Gustafsson 2, 5:49. 3, Montreal, Pacioretty 12 (Plekanec, Subban), 19:02 (pp). Penalties—Foster, Phi (roughing, instigator-face shield, fighting), 6:11; White, Mon (elbowing, fighting), 6:11; Rosehill, Phi (boarding), 12:30; Lauridsen, Phi (cross-checking), 17:26; Lauridsen, Phi (cross-checking), 19:23.
Second—4, Montreal, Gallagher 13 (Pacioretty, Subban), :38 (pp). 5, Philadelphia, Voracek 18 (Giroux, Gagne), 1:02. 6, Philadelphia, Hartnell 5 (Giroux, Timonen), 7:30 (pp). 7, Montreal, Galchenyuk 7 (Drewiske, Eller), 9:11. 8, Philadelphia, Giroux 13 (Voracek, Timonen), 10:46. 9, Philadelphia, Hartnell 6 (Voracek, Simmonds), 19:27 (pp). Penalties—Couturier, Phi (slashing), 4:44; Montreal bench, served by Galchenyuk (too many men), 7:08; Couturier, Phi (cross-checking), 11:25; Galchenyuk, Mon (boarding), 18:30.
Third—10, Philadelphia, Hartnell 7 (B.Schenn, Briere), 12:45. Penalties—Desharnais, Mon (high-sticking), :46; Hartnell, Phi (roughing), 6:38; Plekanec, Mon (cross-checking, roughing), 6:38; Rosehill, Phi, served by Briere, double minor-misconduct (roughing), 10:18; Pacioretty, Mon (roughing), 10:18; Subban, Mon (interference), 14:49; Eller, Mon, major-game misconduct (slashing), 20:00. Shots—Philadelphia 17-12-4—33. Montreal 8-10-10—28. Power plays—Philadelphia 2 of 11; Montreal 2 of 3. Goalies—Philadelphia, Bryzgalov 18-16-3 (28 shots-25 saves). Montreal, Price 19-10-4 (29-23), Budaj (0:00 third, 4-3). A—21,273 (21,273). T—2:44.
Canucks | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
at Predators | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
First—1, Vancouver, Kesler 3 (H.Sedin, D.Sedin), 1:34 (pp). 2, Vancouver, Roy 5 (Hamhuis, Hansen), 4:34. Penalties—Nashville bench, served by Beck (too many men), :50; Pinizzotto, Van, major (fighting), 5:23; Clune, Nas, major (fighting), 5:23; C.Smith, Nas (high-sticking), 6:08.
Second—3, Nashville, Spaling 8 (Kostitsyn, Bang), 1:34. 4, Nashville, B.Butler 3 (Bartley), 11:40. 5, Vancouver, Garrison 7 (Raymond, Bieksa), 17:02 (pp). Penalties—Gill, Nas (roughing), 16:56; Garrison, Van (holding), 17:35.
Third—6, Vancouver, Burrows 13 (D.Sedin, H.Sedin), :50. 7, Vancouver, Kesler 4 (Roy, Hansen), 15:53. Penalties—Halischuk, Nas (high-sticking), 11:48; Alberts, Van, minor-misconduct (roughing), 16:47; Kassian, Van (roughing, cross-checking), 16:47; Weber, Nas, minor-misconduct (roughing), 16:47; Rinne, Nas, served by Weber (unsportsmanlike conduct), 16:47. Shots—Vancouver 9-10-5—24. Nashville 9-19-10—38. Power plays—Vancouver 2 of 4; Nashville 0 of 2. Goalies—Vancouver, Luongo 9-4-3 (38 shots-36 saves). Nashville, Rinne 14-16-7 (24-19). A—16,518 (17,113). T—2:23.