TORONTO _ The improved Devils were supposed to be testing how they matched up against one of the NHL's more skilled teams. Instead, it was the Maple Leafs who didn't measure up.
The Devils skated better and with more structure and thrived on special teams, turning the game on Brian Gibbons' five-on-three short-handed goal in the second period as they killed off a two-minute, two-man advantage, and are now the Eastern Conference's last remaining undefeated team after winning, 6-3, on Wednesday night at Air Canada Centre.
The Devils (3-0-0), with top-line right wing Kyle Palmieri back in the lineup after a one-game absence, now have 15 goals as they're off to their best start since 2014-15. Cory Schneider (47 saves) won his third straight and Miles Wood scored twice within one minutes, 38 seconds in the second period.
The Maple Leafs (3-1-0), who got 25 saves from Frederik Andersen, had scored 19 goals in their first three games.
The game was the first NHL meeting of the last two No. 1 overall picks, the Devils' Nico Hischier, selected this June, and Auston Matthews, last season's Calder Trophy winner as the league's top rookie after scoring 40 goals. Matthews did score a five-on-three power-play goal to pull the Maple Leafs within 5-3 at 13:34 of the third period.
It was the Devils' other rookies, Jesper Bratt and defenseman Will Butcher, who contributed on the scoresheet. Bratt, with an assist, now has three goals and three assists and Butcher, with two assists, now has five.
The Devils took a 4-2 lead into the third period thanks to their second-period special teams' work. And Blake Coleman extended that to 5-2 at 3:35 of the third period.
Pavel Zacha broke a 2-2 tie with a power-play goal at 9:58, getting open in the low slot to complete a passing sequence from Marcus Johansson to Bratt to Zacha, who converted his first shot of the season. Zacha's second shot, a tip of John Moore's point shot at 17:21 of the third period, capped the scoring.
But Zacha and John Moore both went to the box at 14:44, Moore for cross checking and Zacha for hooking. Not only did the Devils kill off the Maple Leafs' two-man advantage over two minutes, they extended their lead as Brian Gibbons knocked in the rebound of Adam Henrique's shot at 14:54.
The Devils entered the game warning themselves against getting into a run-and-gun game against the slick-skating Maple Leafs.
And, they certainly wanted to keep the Maple Leafs from getting too many power play opportunities.
But one of the reasons the Maple Leafs are looking like one of the NHL's better teams is that, with their, skill, they can often negate the opponents' wishes.
So the first period, which ended in a 2-2 tie, was a bit of an up-and-down affair, with James van Riemsdyk opening the scoring at 8:33 with a power-play goal at the right post for the Maple Leafs.
It marked the first time this season the Devils had trailed.
But Wood, a healthy scratch in the first game, tied the just 34 seconds later by tipping defenseman Steven Santini's shot from the right, then gave the Devils a 2-1 lead on a breakaway at 10:45. Dominic Moore tied the game at 2 by deflecting Nikita Zaitsev's shot from the right point at 13:33, just three seconds after a two-minute instigator penalty to Stefan Noesen, who had fought Matt Martin, expired.
Palmieri had spent one game watching the improved way the Devils are playing, sitting out Monday's 6-2 win at Buffalo after exiting late in the second period of the Devils' season-opening 4-1 win over the Avalanche at Prudential Center on Saturday after taking a knee-to-knee hit from defenseman Erik Johnson.
"I saw the video after, I don't really remember much," Palmieri said. "I don't think it was a dirty hit. He wasn't trying to make contact with my knee. I was trying to avoid the hit, my leg got left out there with the boards. He's a big guy, a fast guy. Sometimes that's what happens."
