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Leafs edge Devils in shootout

Nov 9, 2013 - 5:17 AM Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - James van Riemsdyk netted the lone goal of the shootout, leading Toronto past New Jersey, 2-1, at Air Canada Centre.

Phil Kessel tallied in regulation and Jonathan Bernier came up with 34 saves for the Maple Leafs, who have won four of their last five.

Michael Ryder lit the lamp and Cory Schneider stopped 27 shots for the Devils, who have dropped three of their last four.

After four straight chances were turned aside, van Riemsdyk was the third shooter for Toronto, opening up the final round by beating Schneider on the forehand.

Bernier then gloved an Adam Henrique chance to end the contest.

"I don't have an answer," Devils head coach Pete DeBoer said after his club fell to 0-4 this season in the breakaway round. "We'll have to look at some other options, some different things. I don't have an answer right now for that."

Kessel put the Leafs on the board at the 8:12 mark of the third. The speedy winger initiated a tremendous individual rush from his own zone, looping through center ice from right to left, stickhandling around three defenders in the Devils' zone and scoring on the forehand.

"It reminded me of Frank Mahovlich," Toronto said Randy Carlyle. "The wind up, come back inside your own line and attack. That's old time hockey. I mean real old time hockey. Those are difference maker goals."

The Devils equalized on the power play with 4:45 remaining on a fluke tally. Ryder flipped the puck on net from the right wing, and though Bernier got down in the butterfly to smother the shot, the puck rolled up his stick and inside the crook of his arm.

Schneider made a game-saving stop on Kessel from the left side off a 3-on-1 break with just under two minutes left in overtime.

In a scoreless 40 minutes, Bernier came up with 22 stops and Schneider was good on 16 attempts.

Game Notes

Toronto has won three in a row over New Jersey at home and six of nine since February of 2010 ... Leafs forward David Clarkson faced old mates for the first time since signing a free-agent deal in the offseason, going scoreless on two shots in 20:43 of ice time ... In a pregame ceremony, the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2013 was honored. Rob Niedermayer, Chris Chelios, Brendan Shanahan, the late Fred Shero and Canadian women's player Geraldine Heaney will be inducted on Monday.