Connor Hellebuyck made 23 saves for his first shutout with New Jersey as the Devils blanked the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0 on Sunday night in Toronto. Timo Meier scored twice for the Devils, who improved to 13-5-0 and have won nine of their last 10 games.
Nico Hischier scored a power-play goal and added an assist, and Connor Brown scored into an empty net. Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt each had two assists. Anthony Stolarz stopped 25 shots for Toronto, which fell to 8-9-2.
The Maple Leafs have lost three straight games and five of their last six in regulation. Meier opened the scoring at 8:28 of the second period when he was left alone in front after a faceoff in the offensive zone. He doubled the lead when a Hughes shot deflected off him and past Stolarz.
Hischier made it 3-0 on a power play at 9:49 of the third period before Brown completed the scoring. Hellebuyck, acquired from the Winnipeg Jets last month, became the first goaltender in franchise history to win each of his first five games with the club.
Devils general manager Sunny Mehta said Hellebuyck will not play Tuesday when the team visits Winnipeg to face the Jets, his former club. Hellebuyck said he had requested to start against Winnipeg and had discussed the decision with management, but the request was denied.
Hellebuyck said he was disappointed but understood the reasoning. He said he loves Winnipeg and would have liked to play there again, but that the decision was out of his hands.
The Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2026 was honoured before the game. Carey Price, Patrice Bergeron, Pekka Rinne, Keith Tkachuk and Cindy Curley are set to be enshrined in the player category Monday, and Brian Burke will be inducted as a builder.