New Jersey Devils score own goal in overtime as Toronto Maple Leafs win

NEWARK, N.J. – Damon Severson had never scored an overtime goal in the NHL, and this wasn’t how he envisioned his first.

The Devils defenseman backhanded the puck into his own net with 2:22 left in overtime, gifting the Toronto Maple Leafs a 5-4 win against New Jersey on Friday night for their season-best sixth consecutive victory.

Severson got the puck after Toronto’s William Nylander lost control of it driving toward New Jersey’s net. The 25-year-old Severson inadvertently beat goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood while trying to clear the puck out of danger. Nylander was credited with the goal.

“I was just trying to protect the puck,” said Severson, who was consoled by teammates while leaving the ice. “I was not trying to do anything with it. Protect the puck and then get it out of harm’s way. I just hit it by accident into our own net.”

Nylander set up the play by taking the puck from Jack Hughes. It’s Toronto’s longest winning streak since November of 2017.

“It’s nice to get some puck luck and have bounces go your way,” Maple Leafs goaltender Michael Hutchinson said after making 24 saves. “Start of the season, felt I was playing well and making other teams have to make good plays to score goals but just as a team we weren’t getting those fortunate bounces to go our way, so it’s nice to get those bounces. We need to create our own luck and bounces.”