Devils 6, Maple Leafs 5: Meier, Bratt lead the charge

The two star wingers showed up in a big way, powering the Devils past the Maple Leafs.

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A few notes following another eventful game between New Jersey and Toronto:

Timo Meier took over

Meier bounced back in a big way after a couple of quiet games. He was all over the ice from start to finish.

Meier set the tone on his first shift, crashing the net and fishing out a puck to Dawson Mercer for a great chance. It didn’t end up in the back of the net but Erik Haula scored moments later, capitalizing on the play Meier started.

He lost his assist shortly after the goal (understandably so) but made sure it didn’t matter by picking up three more points.

Meier scored a pair of power play goals – including an absolute snipe post-and-in – and assisted on another en route to his third three-point night since early March.

He made his mark beyond just producing offense on the man advantage. The opening goal he helped create was at 5v5. He finished with a positive xGF% in that game state despite the Devils coming in at 34%. He also laid four hits and blocked a shot. He was involved in everything.

This year couldn’t have gone worse for Meier in a lot of ways. He missed time with injury, he played a lot of games at less than 100%, he spent a ton of time on the 3rd line, he didn’t play more than a minute or two on the top power play until March, and yet he might still pot 30 goals. He is pacing for 33 over 82 games, which is pretty crazy all things considered.

I think he is going to be a monster next season, flirting with 40 goals while producing ~a point per game.

What the hell?