New Jersey Devils center Adam Henrique (14) scores a goal on Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Garret Sparks (31) during the second period at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on April 9, 2016.Ed Mulholland
Adam Henrique scored twice and Kyle Palmieri once to become the Devils' first 30-goal scorers in four years and New Jersey ended another disappointing season with a 5-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
Devante Smith-Pelly also scored and Cory Schneider made 19 saves for the Devils, who have missed the Stanley Cup playoffs the last four seasons. Palmieri scored into an empty net. Patrik Elias scored with 16 seconds left in what might be his final game with New Jersey.
Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau scored and Garret Sparks made 31 saves for the Maple Leafs, who finish with the NHL's worst record and will be missing the post-season for the third straight season.
The Devils finished 38-36-8 in their first season under John Hynes, a six-point improvement.
Toronto was 29-42-11 in its first year under Mike Babcock.
Elias, the Devils career leading scorer, also had two assists. The soon-to-be 40-year-old is an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Henrique has never scored a hat trick. He provided the winning margin and helped the Devils snap a four-game losing streak with his goals in the second period.
The 26-year-old centre gave the Devils the lead with a fluky goal 58 seconds into the period. Defenceman Adam Larsson's shot from the point hit off Sparks, and the puck rebounded down off Henrique's skate, bounced up and hit his body and rolled into the net. The goal was reviewed and stood for a 2-1 lead.
Henrique stretched it to 3-1 at 10:42, hitting the 30-goal mark for the first time. This one also had a couple of crazy bounces. TJ Brennan knocked a puck off Tuomo Ruutu's stick, it hit the skate of Toronto's William Nylander and bounced forward to Henrique, who lifted it into the net.
Three Devils made their NHL debuts – Pavel Zacha, Steven Santini and Miles Wood. Zacha, the sixth pick in the draft last year, had two assists.
The game was tied 1-all after the first period, but that was because Sparks was outstanding in goal, making 18 saves. The Devils had three power plays in the period but their only goal came when Smith-Pelly backhanded a rebound into the net after Zacha earned his first NHL point by nudging a faceoff toward the goal.
It's Smith-Pelly's eighth goal since coming to the Devils in a deal prior to the trade deadline on Feb. 29, and first in nine games.
Parenteau gave the Maple Leafs the lead at 2:53. Brooks Laich had a shot hit off two goalposts and Parenteau slammed a rebound into the open net for his 20th goal of the season, tying his career high set in 2010-11 with the Islanders.
NOTES: Laich retrieved the puck after Parenteau scored and flipped it to his bench. The sellout crowd chanted "Patty, Patty, Patty" as Elias started for New Jersey. ... The Devils honoured former general manager and current Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello during a stoppage in the first period. Lamoriello left the Devils last season and later joined Toronto. The team displayed a "Thank You Lou" sign on the scoreboard. ... Ilya Kovalchuk, Zach Parise and David Clarkson had 30 goals apiece for the Devils in 2011-12.