NEWARK, N.J. -- There's still a little more than half the season remaining but the Toronto Maple Leafs will wake up Saturday morning in a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Leafs used four goals in less than six minutes of the first period to jump to a big lead, then survived a late push in a 4-2 victory against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Friday night.

Nazem Kadri, Connor Brown, Auston Matthews and Tyler Bozak scored on four of their team's six first shots. Matthews' goal that made it 3-0 chased Devils goaltender Cory Schneider, who made two saves in 14:40.

Frederik Andersen made 30 saves for the Leafs, who are 6-0-1 in their past seven games.

It was a similar start to the Leafs' game against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, as they held leads of 2-1, 3-2 and 4-2 before allowing the Capitals to rally in the third period and eventually win 6-5 in overtime. PA Parenteau and Jon Merrill scored late in the third period to put a scare into the Leafs but it wasn't enough.

"As a group, we know what we're capable of," Matthews said of the Leafs moving into third place in the Atlantic Division. "That's been the goal since the start of the year, to be in that mix, in that race for a playoff spot. I definitely think we have the talent to do so. We're a fast, skilled talented young group and we continue to get better each and every game."

The Leafs (18-12-8) are on pace for 95 points, which would be a 26-point improvement over their 30th-place finish last season.

"I knew going into this season that I thought we'd get better and better and as the season has gone on, we've done that," Leafs forward James van Riemsdyk said. "Where that would leave us points-wise and playoffs-wise, you never really know. We can't be satisfied here. We've got to keep pushing."

Brown's shorthanded goal that gave the Leafs a 2-0 lead won't be considered the winner but it appeared to deflate the Devils (16-17-7).

Defenseman Damon Severson passed the puck to Schneider to alleviate pressure while the Devils were on a power play. Brown continued to advance, however, and it led to Schneider fumbling the puck to Brown for a shorthanded goal into a vacated net.

"There's no way to excuse it," Schneider said. "It was a brutal mistake by me to make. I have to be better with it. I can't give a free goal away like that. I think it took a little bit of wind out of our sails and who knows if the rest of the game goes the way it does if that one doesn't go in. I just take full responsibility for a crucial mistake at a bad time."

Matthews scored 1:23 later to end Schneider's night, then Bozak scored 35 seconds later against backup goaltender Keith Kinkaid to make it 4-0.

The Leafs shut it down after that goal. They had just seven more shots over the rest of the game and none in the third period. The Devils had 14 in the third period but it was too little, too late.

"I think the thing that we can build on is we didn't drift and become individualistic and not play hard in the final 40 minutes of the game," Devils coach John Hynes said. "We just weren't sharp enough offensively to get ourselves back in earlier than what we did."

Even with the two late goals, the Leafs felt much better about how they protected their lead against the Devils compared to what they did against the Capitals."

"We stuck with it. We didn't hang our heads," Matthews said. "We went out there and closed it out the game the right way, which is what we've wanted to do. It was a good bounce-back since the game against Washington. It's nice to get the win here. We've got one more game tomorrow against another good team then we'll have a break, so we're looking to close this one out."

NOTES: Devils D Andy Greene (hand) saw his 350-game ironman streak come to an end. It's the third-longest streak in team history, topped only by Travis Zajac (401, 2006-2011) and Ken Daneyko (355, 1989-1994). ... The Maple Leafs scratched D Frank Corrado and LW Josh Leivo. ... After the Maple Leafs host the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, they will embark on their bye week and won't play again until Jan. 13. ... The Devils posthumously inducted Dr. John McMullen, the team's longtime owner, into the newly minted ring of honor at Prudential Center. McMullen owned the team for 35 years before selling it in 2000. He died in September 2005. ... Devils G Cory Schneider appeared in his 300th career game.