Matthews scores Nos. 67, 68 in Maple Leafs loss to Devils

Tavares gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead 18 seconds into the first period. He took a pass from Mitch Marner in the slot, cut around Luke Hughes in the left circle and beat Allen with a wrist shot as he fell to his knees.

Erik Haula tied it 1-1 just 21 seconds later when picked up a loose puck in the slot and shot past Samsonov’s left pad. 

Matthews put Toronto up 2-1 at 6:08, taking a centering pass from Domi and shooting past Allen from the right circle. 

Nolan Foote tied it 2-2 at 7:57 with his first goal of the season. He intercepted a pass at the right face-off dot from Mark Giordano, who was behind the net, and deked to the backhand around Samsonov’s outstretched left pad.

Meier made it 3-2 at 12:37 when he one-timed a pass from Bratt at the right face-off dot on the power play. 

Matthews tied it 3-3 at 7:59 of the second period when he redirected a centering pass from Domi at the top of the crease. He has nine goals in the past seven games and 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists) during a 13-game point streak. 

“It’s remarkable what he’s doing,” Tavares said. “I think there’s no question about it, we are seeing something truly special, so just appreciate it every night and as a team, we want to do a good job with our game as a whole to maximize when you have a player like that who can put the puck in the net as frequently as he can.”