The Toronto Maple Leafs delivered one of their best efforts of the season with the odds stacked against them to close out the calendar year. Down Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Chris Tanev, and Dakota Joshua, they responded with a spirited 4-0 win over Sheldon Keefe’s New Jersey Devils.

A moment that served as a game-taker of sorts for the Maple Leafs came about midway into the third period, when Matthew Knies dropped the gloves with Devils captain Nico Hischier. Knies won the fight relatively handily, dropping Hischier to the ice  before the two got up and he dropped him a second time.

Knies had few words to say about his fight but said that started following some extra curriculars before the faceoff.

“Just a bunch of shoving back and forth to start the faceoff, I asked him and he went. So, nice.”

After the fight, Calle Jarnkrok scored an odd changeup-style goal to extend the Leafs’ lead to 3-0 before Knies himself would ice the game with an empty-netter. Bobby McMann, who opened the scoring in the game, said that the fight gave the team a jolt of energy.

“Yeah, that was nice, especially with maybe how passionate it was in there, in moment going at it,” McMann told reporters following the game. “It fired up our whole bench and everybody was super excited and the energy, you could see it, it was evident right away. We got one there quick and then we just kind of stayed on it, played a lot of O-zone time after it.”

Goaltender Joseph Woll, who picked up the shutout, commended Knies’ fight and overall presence in the win over the Devils.

“Great fight by Kniesy, he had a great game,” Woll said. “Thought he was really strong, so I’m happy.”

Despite being the catalyst of the game being sealed, Knies took more joy in the goal that followed his fight.

“Yeah, it was awesome to see Jarny [Jarnkrok] score that,” Knies said with a laugh. “I’ve never seen a goal like that, but it was awesome cheering from the box.”

The Maple Leafs needed a game like this to restore the good vibes after losing a hard-fought effort along with three key players on Sunday against the Red Wings, and they’ll look to spin that into some momentum as they enter 2026.

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