The Devils sure could use Ilya Kovalchuk.
Rookie Leo Komarov and Tyler Bozak scored, James Reimer made 27 saves, and the Maple Leafs held the Devils without a shot during a 64-second, two-man advantage to earn a 2-1 victory Saturday night. The loss extended the reeling Devils’ losing streak to six games.
The six-game skid is the second one this season for the Devils following an 8-1-3 start. The defending Eastern Conference champions have not won since top forward Kovalchuk injured his right shoulder.
“There is some frustration in not winning,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “Whether we win 1-0 or 2-1, we have to find ways to win games. That’s the bottom line and that’s where the frustration lies. The solution has to come from within the room.”
The Maple Leafs’ fourth win in five games strengthened their position in the tight Eastern Conference playoff race. Toronto is fifth in the East, seven points ahead of the 10th-place Devils, who are three points behind the eighth-place Islanders and the postseason cutoff.
“You want to beat the teams that are trying to catch you and create a little more gap,” Bozak said. “We’re happy with the win, but we have a couple of more big games coming up with the Rangers and the Devils again, so it’s going to be key for us to get a few more wins and keep this thing going.”
Toronto has 10 games remaining in the lockout-shortened season. The last time the Maple Leafs made the postseason was before the 2005 lockout season.
“It was a big game for us,” said Reimer, who is 5-1-3 in his last nine appearances. “It kind of feels like a playoff game, so it was good for us to get the win, I thought the boys played great.”
David Clarkson deprived Reimer of his second shutout in three games with a goal with 8:23 left, but the Devils fell to 0-3-3 in their last six games.
Komarov scored early in the first period to stake Toronto to a 1-0 lead, and Bozak tallied midway through the third to double the advantage.
Komarov’s second goal was scored when he deflected a shot from the point by defenseman Mark Fraser past defenseless Devils goalie Martin Brodeur. The 26-year-old Komarov had missed the previous six games because of an upper body injury.
The Devils had a great chance to tie the game when Nikolai Kulemin and James Van Riemsdyk were called for minor penalties 56 seconds apart, with the second coming at 14:02.
New Jersey, which was beaten by Boston 1-0 on Thursday night despite getting 40 shots, had none against Reimer in the two-man advantage.
Andy Greene had the best chance, but his shot from the point was blocked.
“The table was set for us, and we didn’t take advantage of it,” DeBoer said.