TORONTO – Mike Babcock appreciates milestones, but he prefers wins.

The Toronto Maple Leafs coach had it both ways on Thursday night.

He coached his 1,000th NHL game, and the Maple Leafs came back defeat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 in a shootout.

Maple Leafs center Tyler Bozak tied the game late in the third period with goaltender James Reimer pulled for an extra attacker, and right winger P.A. Parenteau scored the only goal of the shootout.

"You're proud of that but to me you just want to win the game," Babcock said. "On the day you're playing you want to win."

Asked if he feels that he can coach another 1,000 games in him, Babcock said, "I've got this year and seven more here (on his contract), and I'm going to stay two more because the team is going to be that good."

Babcock was not the was not the only one to celebrate a milestone on the night.

It was the 800th game for defenseman Dion Phaneuf, the 700th game for left winger Joffrey Lupul and the 300th game for center Nazem Kadri.

There also was a ceremony before the game to mark the 40th anniversary of the 10-point game (six goals, four assists) by former Maple Leafs center Darryl Sittler, who set an NHL record on Feb. 7, 1976 against the Boston Bruins that still stands.

The Devils had taken the lead on a goal by defenseman David Schlemko with a goal earlier in the third period before the Maple Leafs game back.

"We just weren't good enough at the end of the day to get the second point," Devils coach John Hynes said. "It wasn't a game where you could say we let it slip in the sense that we had dominated the game. Toronto played well and it was hard-fought points. On the six-on-five we had the coverage right but we didn't play it tight enough and the puck ended up in the back of the net."

Center Jacob Josefson also scored for and the Devils (26-20-6) with Schlemko adding an assist.

Center Shawn Matthias also scored for the Maple Leafs (19-22-9) with Bozak adding an assist as Toronto won its second straight game.

"I thought we played well," Bozak said. "We took a few too many penalties again but our penalty kill has been great for us and I thought we generated a lot of chances and played really well five-on-five. It was nice to be able to come out of the game with two points."

Toronto goaltender James Reimer made 32 saves.

New Jersey goaltender Keith Kinkaid stopped 37 shots in his 10th start of the season.

"We had a couple chances; they made some stops," Devils right winger Kyle Palmieri said. "That's how it is. We've been a part of them all year and you're going to trade chances. Sometimes you get the bounce and sometimes you don't."

Josefson scored his third goal of the season from the right faceoff circle on a power play at 4:16 of the first period, nine seconds after Maple Leafs defenseman Matt Hunwick was penalized for delay of game.

Matthias tied it for the Leafs, redirecting a pass to the front of the goal from Bozak for his fifth goal of the season at 8:34 of the first. It came three seconds after a tripping penalty to Devils center Travis Zajac expired.

The Devils took the lead at 6:27 of the third period on a blast from above the right circle by Schlemko for his sixth goal of the season.

The Leafs went on a power play at 8:45 of the third when Devils center Adam Henrique was sent off for interference. Reimer made a big save on Devils center Stephen Gionta from close range to prevent a short-handed goal. The Devils killed the penalty.

Maple Leafs center Michael Grabner took a tripping penalty at 13:46 of the third, but the Devils did not threaten.

The Maple Leafs removed Reimer for an extra attacker with under three minutes to play and Bozak tied it with a slap shot from the slot at 17:54 for his 10th goal of the season.

"Sometimes it takes a little luck and tonight I think I got a little lucky," Reimer said. "There's other times I haven't. It was nice to make a few saves and for the boys to score one and to kind of hold it that amount in the shootout."

NOTES: New Jersey All-Star G Cory Schneider (undisclosed) suffered a minor injury on Tuesday in the win over the New York Rangers and did not start Thursday. G Keith Kinkaid started in his place. "Just a small issue -- no worries," Schneider said. "I just wanted to make sure everything is feeling OK and it is. I just didn't want to push it." He expects to miss only one game. ... Devils D John Moore (lower body) returned to the lineup from injured reserve. ... New Jersey D Jon Merrill (right arm), C Patrik Elias (right knee), LW Jiri Tlusty and LW Mike Cammalleri (hand) remained out. Toronto was without LW James van Riemsdyk (foot) and D Stephane Robidas (lower body). ... Toronto travels to Ottawa to play the Senators on Saturday night. New Jersey returns home to face the Washington Capitals on Saturday afternoon.