McElhinney stops 25 shots, Maple Leafs beat Rangers 4-0

By VIN A. CHERWOO
AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Curtis McElhinney is getting more comfortable as his career progresses, and it's been showing on the ice.

The veteran backup stopped 25 shots for his second shutout of the season and seventh of his career as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Rangers 4-0 on Thursday night.

"I just feel like I'm getting better and better," said the 34-year-old McElhinney, who is in his second season with Toronto after spending the previous four with Columbus. "I feel certainly more comfortable about my game than where I did five years ago."

McElhinney is now 5-4-0 in nine starts this season and lowered his goals-against average to 2.25 - the lowest of his career in a season while making more than one start.

James van Riemsdyk, Patrick Marleau, Zach Hyman and Justin Holl scored for the Maple Leafs in their second straight shutout and fourth straight win. Toronto also completed a sweep of the three-game season series with the Rangers.

It came one night after Frederik Andersen had 25 saves in a 5-0 win at home against the Islanders, giving Toronto back-to-back shutouts for the second time this season. The Maple Leafs extended their shutout streak to 142 minutes, 17 seconds since Dallas' Tyler Seguin scored late in the second period of Toronto's 4-1 win last Thursday.

"We did a great job in front of the net," McElhinney said. "The biggest takeaway from the game tonight and even the last one was smart decisions with the puck at the blue line."

Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock likes how his team has played lately, improving to 7-2-3 in their last 12 and sitting three points behind second-place Boston in the Atlantic Division.

"We think we're getting better," he said. "We think we have a chance to be quite a bit better so we're just a work in progress. ... We're deeper than we've been, we have four lines."

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist was pulled early in the second period after giving up four goals on 13 shots. Ondrej Pavelec came on and stopped all 19 shots he faced. New York, shut out for just the second time this season, has lost eight of its last 12.

The Rangers were playing for the first time since winning at San Jose last Thursday in their last game before the All-Star break, but coach Alain Vigneault didn't want to use the layoff as an excuse.

"We had two really good practices prior to this, so we should have been better than this," he said.

McElhinney had two nice saves on Rick Nash about six minutes into the third, first on a shot from the right circle and then a tip attempt in close six seconds later. McElhinney also denied Jimmy Vesey in front midway through the period.

Toronto built a 2-0 lead in the first period and then quickly adding to it in the second.

Marleau scored 52 seconds into the middle period off a rebound of a shot by Nazem Kadri for his 17th.

Hyman took a pass from William Nylander, skated in on Lundqvist and went forehand to backhand before putting it in from the left side for his 10th at 3:05 to make it 4-0 and chase Lundqvist.

Holl got Toronto on the board 8:42 into the game as his shot from the right side beyond the faceoff circle beat Lundqvist, who was being screened by Hyman, and rang off the left post and in. It was the defenseman's second career goal - and second in two nights after being called up from Toronto of the AHL for his NHL debut Wednesday.

The Maple Leafs made it 2-0 when van Riemsdyk put a backhand past Lundqvist for his 20th with 4:37 left.

NOTES: Toronto also had consecutive shutouts at New Jersey on Nov. 18 and against Montreal on Nov. 18. ... The Maple Leafs were without D Ron Hainsey (illness) for the second straight game. LW Matt Martin was a healthy scratch for the fourth straight game. ... Rangers F Chris Kreider missed his 14th straight game due to a blood clot in his right arm and ensuing rib surgery to alleviate it. D Kevin Shattenkirk is also out while recovering from knee surgery. ... New York F Pavel Buchnevich left the game after a collision with Toronto's Jake Gardiner about halfway through the second period and did not return.

UP NEXT

Maple Leafs: At Boston on Saturday night to close a two-game trip before a five-game homestand.

Rangers: At Nashville on Saturday night to open a two-game trip.

Holl scores in NHL debut as Maple Leafs blank Islanders 5-0

Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) -- Justin Holl walked into Air Canada Centre on his own a couple hours before Wednesday night's game, with his minor league equipment bag and a bundle of sticks in his hands.

He originally expected to have the day off. He was sure glad he played.

Holl scored in his NHL debut and Travis Dermott got his first goal in his ninth career game, leading the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 5-0 victory over the New York islanders.

"It's almost surreal," Holl said. "You're like `Wait did that really happen?' And you're like, `Nice, it did.'"

The 26-year-old Holl joined the Toronto organization on an AHL contract in 2015-16 before earning a two-way deal last season. He played in 239 minor league games before suiting up against New York.

"I have confidence in my abilities, sometimes you have to work a little harder for the things you want," said Holl, who was selected by Chicago in the second round of the 2010 draft. "You have faith it's all gonna turn out all right."

Holl and Dermott spent parts of the last two seasons together on the Toronto Marlies, making the evening that much more special for the blue-line duo.

"Crazy, you can't put it into words," the 21-year-old Dermott said. "You can't write it up any more perfect with (Holl) up here as my partner.

"It all came together perfect tonight."

Kasperi Kapanen, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner also scored for the Maple Leafs (29-18-5), and Frederik Andersen made 28 saves for his fourth shutout of the season.

Thomas Greiss stopped 45 shots for the Islanders (25-22-5), who also lost 4-1 at home against Florida on Tuesday.

"Just really unacceptable the level we're playing at," captain John Tavares said. "Not gonna win too many hockey games the way we've played the last couple nights."

Toronto had three rookie defensemen in the lineup after scratching regulars Morgan Rielly (upper body), Roman Polak (viral infection) and Ron Hainsey (illness). Holl made his NHL debut alongside first-year skaters Andreas Borgman and Dermott. Defenseman Nikita Zaitsev returned to Toronto's lineup after missing 17 games with a foot injury.

The Maple Leafs scored twice in each of the first two periods.

"When you play a fast team like that it's always a challenge," Islanders coach Doug Weight said. "They came at us hard and looking back we had some really good chances we missed.

"Our guys battled, we just have to find a way to be better."

Kapanen opened the scoring 5:37 into the game by jamming in a loose puck near the goal line.

Matthews doubled the lead when he picked up a Zach Hyman rebound in the slot and sent a wrist shot by Greiss at 13:39. Jake Gardiner started the play with a long outlet pass and picked up the other assist to extend his point streak to six games.

New York appeared to be gaining some traction before Marner skated into the slot and re-directed a Nazem Kadri pass to make it 3-0 at 10:32.

Tavares had a great chance to put his team on the board on the power play, but he juggled the puck at the side of an open net before getting off a weak shot that Andersen had no trouble with despite being on his back.

Dermott finished off a pass from William Nylander with 1:01 to play in the second. Matthews skated right to the Islanders net to pick up the puck as a keepsake for Dermott.

"He gets excited any time anybody scores a goal. You can hear him probably up in the press box," Matthews said. "Him scoring his first, he was pretty pumped up."

Holl made it 5-0 with a wrist shot from an off angle that slipped through Greiss' legs at 3:42. This time it was Hyman who collected the puck for his teammate.

"Obviously, good for those kids," Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. "You don't get to score your first NHL goal very often - one time."

NOTES: Toronto F Matt Martin was a healthy scratch for a third straight game. ... Islanders F Andrew Ladd was activated from injured reserve and inserted into the lineup after missing nine games with an upper-body injury.

UP NEXT

Islanders: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.

Maple Leafs: Visit the New York Rangers on Thursday night.

McElhinney has 39 saves, Kadri 2 goals as Leafs beat Stars

Associated Press

DALLAS (AP) – It was just another game for Curtis McElhinney on Thursday night, even though he hadn't played in more than a month.

McElhinney made 39 saves, helping the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Dallas Stars 4-1.

He had lost in his last two appearances in December, but kept himself ready.

"Just keeping good habits in practice, trying to stay focused," he said. "The last couple games for me were tough personally, so this is a good way to bounce back."

Toronto coach Mike Babcock wasn't surprised.

"That's what we pay him to do."

Nazem Kadri scored twice, and Zach Hyman and Auston Matthews had one goal each for the Maple Leafs.

McElhinney's effort turned around the recent fortunes of two teams in playoff position at the All-Star break.

The Leafs, third in the Atlantic Division at 28-18-5, had been 2-3-2 in the previous seven games. Dallas, coming off a 4-0-1 stretch, still holds the first wild card in the Western Conference at 28-18-4.

"I said the key (would be) the first 10 minutes," McElhinney said, "and we did a tremendous job the first 10 minutes setting the pace of play and kind of easing into it."

At 15:50 of the first period, Kadri scored his first goal for a lead Toronto never lost.

With three Leafs in front of the net, Mitchell Marner passed across the goal mouth to Kadri, and Stars goalie Ben Bishop had little chance to stop him.

"We got the goal, and I thought everyone relaxed," Babcock said. "We skated real good tonight, maybe the best we've skated all year, all four lines. It was good for a team playing back-to-back."

The Leafs won in overtime at Chicago on Wednesday.

"We had a lot of momentum until they scored their first goal," Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock said. "Then again when they scored their second goal we had more momentum. We had two, three scoring opportunities there right away."

McElhinney took away those opportunities.

Toronto's Jake Gardiner had three assists for the second time in four games. William Nylander assisted twice.

Tyler Seguin scored to bring Dallas within 3-1 late in the second period, but Matthews restored the Leafs' three-goal lead at 2:38 of the third.

Bishop had 25 saves.

After Toronto finished a penalty kill, Hyman extended the Leafs' lead to 2-0 at 1:55 of the second period. Nylander's shot from the left circle went off Bishop, over his left leg, and fell just short of the goal line. Hyman was there to put it in.

A good bounce gave Kadri his second goal, on the power play at 9:29 of the second. His pass to the top of the slot went off Dallas' Mattias Janmark, down the slot and into the net to the right of Bishop.

It was Kadri's third goal in two nights after a seven-game scoreless streak.

"I don't know how many guys it hit or how it ended up in the back of the net," he said, "but just a couple deflections and it was a goal."

NOTES: McElhinney was playing for the first time since Dec. 20. In contrast, Bishop has started 14 of the Stars' past 16 games. McElhinney had a season-high 41 saves in shutting out Edmonton 1-0 on Dec. 10. ... Radulov has 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in the last nine games. ... In three career games against Dallas, Marner has four points (one goal, three assists). ... A second-period fight between Stars LW Antoine Roussel and Toronto D Connor Carrick was the seventh in Dallas' last two games. ... The Leafs have played a league-high 51 games.

UP NEXT

Maple Leafs: Return home for a game Wednesday night against the Islanders.

Stars: Complete a three-game homestand Tuesday night vs. Los Angeles.

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More AP hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

Couturier's goal lifts Flyers over Leafs on Lindros' night

By MIKE CRANSTON
Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- On a night that belonged to Eric Lindros, the Philadelphia Flyers paid tribute to the Hall of Fame center with a gritty comeback.

Sean Couturier scored 18 seconds into overtime and the Flyers rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2 on Thursday after retiring Lindros' No. 88 jersey.

"A huge comeback win on a special night," said rookie Nolan Patrick, who scored his first goal in 25 games.

Couturier continued his hot streak with his eighth goal in six games. He took a feed from Travis Konecny and beat Frederik Andersen with a wrist shot.

Couturier's 26th goal and 46th point in his already career-best season lifted the Flyers to their fifth win in six games.

"Coots is playing on another level right now," Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere said. "We're trying to match it. He's definitely carrying us."

Patrick and Wayne Simmonds scored early in the third period for the Flyers. Michal Neuvirth stopped 29 shots in just his second start since Nov. 28, including a sprawling pad save on Patrick Marleau with 2:48 left in regulation.

"Three at least 10-bell saves by Neuvy," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said of his backup goalie. "I don't think that's lost on anybody in the building and certainly in the dressing room. He was tremendous."

Fourth-liners Connor Brown and Frederik Gauthier scored 28 seconds apart in the second period for Toronto in its season-high fourth straight loss. Andersen made 34 saves.

Toronto, in a 2-3-4 stretch, last won in regulation on Dec. 28 at Arizona, and Andersen let his teammates have it.

"I don't think we're tired. I think it's a lack of effort at certain points," he said. "It's something that can't happen. If we want to play any meaningful hockey later, we need to figure it out."

Patrick ended Philadelphia's streak of seven unanswered goals allowed with an unassisted tally 2:07 into the third. It was the third of the season for the 19-year-old forward, the No. 2 overall pick in last year's draft.

The Flyers tied it just over a minute later with only their second short-handed goal of the season, with Simmonds picking up his 16th goal with Jori Lehtera in the box.

Toronto dominated the second period. Brown scored on a breakaway at 12:57 after Gostisbehere's giveaway in the neutral zone. The 22-year-old Gauthier then made it 2-0 with his first goal of the season and No. 3 for his career.

"We can't let the lead go every time we are up by one or two goals," Gauthier said. "There's something to learn here."

The Flyers had more energy late on an emotional night for the franchise.

The big and skillful Lindros, who grew up watching the hometown Maple Leafs in Ontario, spent eight seasons with the Flyers. He won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP in 1995 and helped Philadelphia reach the Stanley Cup Final two years later.

Back on good terms with the organization after an ugly 2001 departure, Lindros received several standing ovations before his number was hoisted to the rafters in a ceremony that delayed the start by an hour.

Lindros attended Flyers practice Wednesday and the morning skate before the game, spending time with veterans Simmonds and Jakub Voracek and marveling about how the game has evolved.

"Those guys are just machines," Lindros said. "They're built for speed. The hands and skill level of today's player is far greater than even five years ago."

As Lindros watched from a suite, the Flyers improved to just 3-8 in overtime.

NOTES: The Flyers considered but decided against challenging Gauthier's goal as offside. . Toronto D Morgan Rielly, who left the ice in pain after the second period, returned for the third. . Gauthier played ahead of Dominic Moore. . Tyrell Goulbourne was back on the Flyers' fourth line after being scratched Tuesday. . Flyers rookie D Travis Sanheim was a healthy scratch for the seventh time in eight games.

UP NEXT

Maple Leafs: Visit Ottawa on Saturday night.

Flyers: Host New Jersey on Saturday afternoon.

Steen ties it, Dunn scores in OT to lift Blues over Leafs

Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) -- Alexander Steen pulled the St. Louis Blues back into the game, and then Vince Dunn finally got rewarded for a fabulous first performance in his home province.

Steen tied it with 57 seconds left and Dunn scored 1:43 into overtime, lifting St. Louis over the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 on Tuesday night.

Connor Brown put Toronto ahead on a short-handed breakaway midway through the third period, but Steen scored with goalie Carter Hutton pulled for an extra attacker by backhanding Alex Pieterangelo's rebound past Frederik Andersen.

Dunn, a 21-year-old rookie defenseman from Mississauga, Ontario, then capped the rally in OT. He snapped a low shot past Andersen after choosing to keep the puck on a 2-on-1, ending it with his game-high seventh shot on goal.

Dunn was just recalled from the Chicago Wolves of the AHL on Monday.

"Let's just say that coach's instinct told me to put (Dunn) in the game," coach Mike Yeo said. "It was a tough situation for him because we didn't know that he was going to play the game and he didn't know that he was going to play in the game. We talked to him in the morning and it's tough for him to prepare, obviously."

Dunn got the first game-winning goal of his career in his 40th game.

"For a young kid, this is a meaningful game for him," Dunn said. "He wanted to play in this game. A lot of family and friends. He did a great job of being ready to go."

Andersen stopped 40 shots and Hutton had 30 saves.

"Sometimes it goes that way but you want to keep learning from it and keep moving forward. That's the only thing we can do now," Andersen said. "We're going to go through stretches like this in a season, but I thought we've been good at closing out games early in the year and I think we've got to get back to being solid like that."

St. Louis dominated in the first period, with the Maple Leafs struggling to connect passes. Toronto's best chances came with Blues forward Kyle Brodziak in the penalty box for slashing, but the Leafs only had a few threats on net. By the end of the first, St. Louis had outshot Toronto 14-7.

The biggest play of the opening 20 minutes came when Leafs forward Matt Martin squared up Brodziak behind the St. Louis net and crushed him with a body check. Blues tough guy Chris Thorburn came to Brodziak's defense and fought Martin.

Andersen kept the Leafs in the game through the first two periods, including stopping Thorburn on a breakaway with about nine minutes left in the second. Play opened up in the period, but the score remained scoreless.

In the third period, Andersen again stymied Thorburn, sliding post-to-post on a wraparound attempt and getting a pad on the puck before then covering up the rebound in the first four minutes of play.

Brown finally opened the scoring shortly after, outracing Alex Pietrangelo to the puck after the Blues captain mishandled a pass at the blue line.

"We got a point and played a real good team," Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. "I thought it was a real good hockey game. They were too quick for us in the first. I thought we played better as the game went on."

NOTES: It was the Maple Leafs' first game back after the bye week. Their last game was a 4-3 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Jan. 10.

UP NEXT

Blues: Play at Ottawa on Thursday night.

Maple Leafs: Play at Philadelphia on Thursday night.

Tom Pyatt breaks late tie, Senators beat Maple Leafs 4-3

Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) -- Ottawa coach Guy Boucher didn't think twice about going back to Craig Anderson in goal against Toronto.

A night after being yanked in a blowout home loss to Chicago, Anderson rebounded to make 44 saves and the Senators beat the Maple Leafs 4-3 on Wednesday night in the final game for both teams before their bye weeks.

"I knew right away, for me when you look at it, he only played 30 minutes (against Chicago), it gives me the chance to play him the next day," Boucher said. "I was very confident he would come in and have a rebound game and that's exactly what he did."

Anderson allowed four goals on 26 shots in the 8-2 loss to the Blackhawks.

"You have to put it behind you as quickly as possible," Anderson said. "You have to leave that in the past and move on."

Tom Pyatt broke a tie with 3:05 left. He took a feed from Matt Duchene on a 3-on-1 - after Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly got caught pinching at Ottawa's blue line - and beat Frederik Andersen high to the blocker side.

"Just some miscommunication between the forward and I," Rielly said. "It's my fault for going."

Thomas Chabot, Mike Hoffman and Gabriel Dumont also scored for the Senators.

Andreas Borgman, James van Riemsdyk and Rielly scored for Toronto.

"We had lots of opportunities but we got impatient," Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. "We had two pinches with no (forward back) that cost us two goals. In the end you have to play right. "Give Anderson credit. He was pulled last night and a proud guy came back tonight and played real well."

Chabot opened the scoring when he attempted a cross-crease pass only for the puck to bounce in off Roman Polak's foot idway through the first.

Hoffman got inside position on van Riemsdyk in front of the Leafs' net and finished off a pass from Duchene with an easy tap-in to make it 2-0 just 1:52 into the second period.

Toronto couldn't solve Anderson through 36 minutes despite having the first three power plays of the game and 28 shots against the Ottawa netminder up to that point - including eight alone from van Riemsdyk.

Finally, after killing off Ottawa's first power-play chance of the game, Borgman got one past Anderson from the point with 1:50 to play in the second. Van Riemsdyk didn't make a mistake with his ninth shot of the night, taking a pass from Tyler Bozak and going through his legs with the puck before beating the goalie from in close 56 seconds into the third period.

"I thought their goalie played extremely well and you've got to tip your cap to him for that," van Riemsdyk said. "He made a lot of point-blank saves."

Dumont put Ottawa back ahead 3-2 only 1:21 later, following up his initial shot off the end boards that bounced out front of the net for a second attempt. Rielly evened the score once again, beating a screened Anderson with a point shot at 12:28.

NOTES: Ottawa's Bobby Ryan missed the game with a hand injury suffered the night before against Chicago. There is no time table for his return. He was replaced by Filip Chlapik, who was recalled from Belleville of the AHL. ... Connor Carrick was in for Travis Dermott on Toronto's blue line.

UP NEXT

Senators: Host St. Louis on Jan 18.

Maple Leafs: Host St. Louis on Tuesday night.

Vasilevskiy's 6th shutout helps Lightning beat Maple Leafs

Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) -- Andrei Vasilevskiy showed the Toronto Maple Leafs why he's one of the NHL's most dominant goalies this season.

Vasilevskiy stopped 30 shots for his NHL-best sixth shutout of the season to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 2-0 victory over the Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.

Vasilevskiy got his league-leading 26th win, and Cedrick Paquette and Alex Killorn scored for Tampa Bay, which won for the 12th time in 14 games.

"It feels good," Vasilevskiy said. "Sometimes (our defense) is able to help me and sometimes I'm able to help them."

The 23-year-old Russian is enjoying a career season with Tampa Bay. When the Lightning parted ways with goalie Ben Bishop last season, they did so with the hope that Vasilevskiy was ready to become the team's undisputed starter.

He's played in 12 playoff games, including two appearances during the team's Stanley Cup Final run in 2015, but there was always a question of how he would handle the spotlight and workload that comes with being the true No. 1.

So far, he's proven worthy of the promotion.

"It's just been a pleasure to watch him grow in this league," Lightning coach John Cooper said. "He makes us a little bigger on the bench, that's for sure."

Frederik Andersen had 34 saves for Toronto, which lost its third straight and is 3-6-1 in its last 10 games.

Tampa Bay controlled much of the pace during the first period, outshooting Toronto 25-12. The Lightning opened the scoring when Chris Kunitz stripped the puck from Andersen while the goalie was handling it behind the net. Kunitz centered a pass to Paquette in the slot and he converted at 12:00 for his first goal since last Jan. 21.

"It was that type of goal where everyone was just on their checks," Kunitz said.

The Lightning added to their lead when Killorn's shot from the circle went through Andersen's legs. Initially, game officials let play resume as they ruled no goal at the time but after 22 seconds the league office called in to interrupt play and award Tampa the goal at with 3:06 remaining.

"I didn't think it went in at the time, I didn't see it unless it would have hit the back of the net," Killorn said of the sequence. "But I knew when the buzzer went, it was a goal."

The Leafs' best chance to score came in the second period when Mitch Marner had a breakaway. He cut across and forced Vasilevskiy to stretch across the net to make a pad save.

"He made a really good play and I think I got lucky a little bit," Vasilevskiy said of Marner's chance.

Marner had a solid second, highlighting an issue the Leafs have had at points throughout the year: slow starts.

"I thought the first period for him and that line was not very good. Then I thought he dominated the game in the second and third," Babcock said of Marner. "When you're going to be a driver on our team like he's going to be, it's every night. You've got to be ready to go right from the get-go."

NOTES: Leafs C Nazem Kadri returned to the lineup after missing two games with an upper-body injury. ... Toronto C Frederik Gauthier made his regular-season debut.

UP NEXT

Lightning: At Montreal on Thursday night in the middle game of a five-game trip.

Maple Leafs: Host San Jose on Thursday night in the second of a stretch of six straight at home.

Joonas Korpisalo, Blue Jackets beat Maple Leafs 4-2

By MITCH STACY
AP Sports Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Backup goaltender Joonas Korpisalo helped the Columbus Blue Jackets put a distressing loss at Boston behind them.

Returning home Wednesday night, Columbus topped the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2, with Korpisalo stopping 39 shots in one of his strongest games of the season.

Korpisalo played in just his eighth game, starting in place of Sergei Bobrovsky on the first night of a back-to-back.

"The guy that is the second goalie not only needs to play the games but needs to win games if we want to get where we want to go in April," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "Korpi has found his way here."

Seth Jones had a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets, who never trailed in snapping a two-game losing streak - including the 7-2 rout at the hands of the Bruins two days ago. They moved into a tie for second place in a traffic jam of teams battling for the top spot in the tough Metropolitan Division.

Lukas Sedlak, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Alexander Wennberg also scored for Columbus, and Cam Atkinson had two assists.

"I thought the guys were really dialed in before the game," Korpisalo said.

Jake Gardiner scored in the second period and Mitchell Marner added another goal in the third for Toronto (21-14-1), which has lost four of its last five.

Former Blue Jackets goalie Curtis McElhinney, starting for Toronto in place of Frederik Andersen on the second leg of a back-to-back, had 33 saves.

"I just thought we didn't compete hard enough," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. "Their team competed harder than us. There was no reason for us not to be ready here today."

Sedak opened the scoring for the Blue Jackets (21-13-1) in the first period. Matt Calvert gathered in the puck in the right corner and fired out to Sedlak, who spun and snapped it in off McElhinney's hip at the 12:57 mark.

Jones got a short-handed goal with 1:15 left in the period. He intercepted a pass in the defensive zone, carried the puck all the way and back and wristed it past McElhinney's glove for his sixth of the season.

"We needed to get our confidence back, I think, and that starts with just making simple plays," Jones said.

The Maple Leafs cut it to 2-1 at 4:26 into the second period after William Nylander knocked down a Columbus pass and set up Gardiner with a nice circle-to-circle pass.

The Blue Jackets answered with a power-play goal , with Cam Atkinson shoveling a rebound out from the back wall to Dubois, who tapped it in. Jones also picked up a helper on the goal.

Wennberg capped the scoring for Columbus in the third period, with Atkinson getting his second assist. Marner then made it 4-2 with about three minutes left.

The Maple Leafs were without top-scorer Auston Matthews, who missed his sixth game with an upper-body injury.

"We're not as good without (Matthews), obviously, but I didn't think that part was the issue, to be honest," Babcock said.

Top-line defenseman Zach Werenski sat out with an undisclosed injury for Columbus. Markus Nutivaara skated next to Jones in his place.

NOTES: Jones has three goals in the last four games...Scratches for the Maple Leafs were F Josh Leivo and D Martin Maraincin....Columbus recalled D Gabriel Carlsson from Cleveland (AHL) Wednesday, a day after sending F Tyler Motte back down...The Dubois goal was a rare power-play tally for Columbus, which is worst in the NHL with a man advantage. He has four goals and six assists in the last 14 games.

UPCOMING:

Toronto: At the New York Rangers on Saturday night.

Columbus: At Pittsburgh on Thursday night.

Leafs celebrate 100th anniversary with rout of Canes

TORONTO -- The Toronto Maple Leafs sure know how to celebrate an anniversary.

They matched their season best in goals scored Tuesday afternoon in an 8-1 rout of the Carolina Hurricanes to mark the 100th anniversary of their first game.

Mitch Marner and Tyler Bozak each scored a goal and added three assists for the Maple Leafs (21-13-1), who ended a three-game losing streak. The four points were a career best for Marner.

"It's definitely exciting," Marner said. "It was a good game for our team, I thought. I think in the second we got a little bit away from what we wanted to be. ... I just felt like I was skating. It felt like our whole line was skating in general. We were creating chances for each other and I think we were getting above the puck a lot."

James van Riemsdyk contributed a goal and two assists. His first-period goal was No. 20,000 in team history.

"It worked out perfectly, I guess, with today and all the stuff for it," van Riemsdyk said. "What better time for it. I think the little dip we were on, we weren't finding ways to get points in the standings. Today we came out and started the game the way we wanted to and kept going from there."

Leo Komarov, Patrick Marleau, Kasperi Kapanen, William Nylander and Connor Carrick also scored for the Maple Leafs, who were known as the Toronto Arenas when they lost 10-9 to the Montreal Wanderers on Dec. 19, 1917 in Montreal.

Zach Hyman had two assists and goaltender Frederik Andersen stopped 32 shots for Toronto.

Jeff Skinner scored for the Hurricanes (14-12-7), who had their three-game winning streak stopped. Scott Darling permitted eight goals on 36 shots.

"They were better than we were," Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. "Their (special) teams obviously set the tone early. They went two-for-two in the first period on the power play and scored a short-handed goal. That's on the specialty teams there. Some of the plays and decisions we made with the puck were less than perfect. There's not a lot to take out of the game that we really like."

The Maple Leafs led 4-1 after the first period.

Komarov scored with his team short-handed for his fourth goal of the season at 2:52 of the first period, nine seconds after Toronto's Matt Martin was penalized for holding. Darling was beaten on a high shot from above the right circle.

Marner scored from the top of the right circle on a power play at 5:33, his third goal of the season and his first since Nov. 11.

It came after Carolina's Josh Jooris was assessed four minutes for roughing and Toronto's Roman Polak two minutes for roughing after their skirmish.

"(Marner) is a good, good player," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. "And you keep telling him that if he works hard and he gets on the inside and wins battles that -- when you're playing good, you want the puck all the time. When you're not playing good, you don't go get it, you're watching, you're thinking too much and your feet don't move. Your brain does, but your feet don't.

"Obviously, as soon as he got going there he had adrenaline. I thought Willy (Nylander) was the same. Willy, I don't know how many shots he missed the net, he hit once I know because he scored, but he had lots of opportunity."

Skinner notched his 12th goal of the season at 9:07 to trim the Toronto lead to 2-1.

Toronto scored again on a power play at 10:34 when van Riemsdyk knocked in a loose puck for his 16th goal of the season. Brett Pesce was off for slashing.

Bozak scored his seventh of the season at 13:28 on an easy shot after Marner worked the puck in front of the goal.

Peters said he had considered removing Darling after the first period.

"We talked about it after 20, and decided it was more so on the group of 18 in front of him," Peters said.

The Maple Leafs scored six seconds apart in the third period. Marleau banked his 12th goal of the season off a defenseman at 9:25 and Kapanen scored his second.

Nylander scored his sixth of the season at 14:05 and Carrick netted his second of the season on a power play at 18:33.

"We didn't do (Darling) any favors," Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk said. "That's the bad part of what happened, is we're down and still giving up opportunities, two-on-ones, getting out-competed. That's real bad on us. ...This one is just embarrassing."

NOTES: Toronto C Auston Matthews (upper body) missed his fifth straight game Tuesday and D Nikita Zaitsev (lower body) was put on injured reserve after blocking a shot in the loss to Detroit on Friday. D Martin Marincin was recalled from the Marlies of the AHL but was not in uniform Tuesday. ... Toronto wore jerseys based on the design of those worn by the Arenas. ... The Maple Leafs visit Columbus on Wednesday. ... The Hurricanes will visit Nashville on Thursday.

Leafs to begin 2nd century vs. Hurricanes

Stats, LLC

TORONTO - While celebrating their 100th anniversary on Tuesday afternoon, the Toronto Maple Leafs would like to put some recent history behind them.

The Maple Leafs have lost three in a row entering their game against the Carolina Hurricanes at the Air Canada Centre.

They likely will be without star center Auston Matthews for a fifth straight game with what is listed as an upper-body injury. He has been skating, but a possible return date has yet to be determined.

"He's doing good, I don't know when they're letting him play, but he's doing good," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said.

The Hurricanes, meanwhile, have won three in a row.

"Time to get refreshed, both physically and mentally," Babcock said. "We've been in every game we've played the last three, but haven't found a way to win. We've been ahead, behind, in all scenarios. We have to find a way to get points."

The Maple Leafs have added injury problems. Defenseman Nikita Zaitsev is out with a lower-body injury after he blocked a shot during the loss to the Red Wings in Detroit on Friday. He will be out for at least two weeks.

"You can ask me how he's doing in two weeks and we'll go from there," Babcock said. "The way I look at it, it creates an opportunity for (Connor) Carrick, who has been waiting all year. The ball's in his court and we get to watch him."

"Zee is a big part of this club, it's my job to step in," Carrick said. "After a couple of practices at home, we should be gunned up and energetic."

Dubbed, the "Next Century Game", the encounter on Tuesday commemorates the club's first game, played Dec. 19, 1917, when they were the Toronto Arenas and faced the Montreal Wanderers.

"I think it's fun," Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said Monday. "I think it's awesome to be a part of it, 100 years of the NHL. They're wearing the told Toronto Arena jerseys. I think it's going to be a fun afternoon."

This will be third and final meeting of the season between the teams.

The Hurricanes won 6-3 at the ACC Oct. 26 and the Maple Leafs won 5-4 at Raleigh, N.C. on Nov. 24.

Peters said his team will need to play with energy against the Maple Leafs, who have had three days off in the schedule.

"(The Maple Leafs have) been off for a while and they'll be chomping at the bit," Peters said.

The Maple Leafs (20-13-1) are 5-5-0 in their past 10 games, while the Hurricanes (14-11-7) are 4-3-3.

In defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 on Saturday, the Hurricanes won a game in regulation for the first time since defeating the New York Islanders 4-2 on Nov. 19.

"It's important to know how to win," defenseman Noah Hanifin said. "If you're going to be in the playoffs and be a tough team to play against, you have to know how to win, especially when you have leads. (Saturday), we had a lead in the whole third period and we found a way to hold it, so we're learning from that."

During their three-game string of wins, the Hurricanes have had solid goaltending from Cam Ward and Scott Darling.

Ward, 33, has the experience with 301 wins in 635 career games (622 starts), while Darling, 28, has 47 wins in 98 career games (86 starts).

"I'm learning every day," Darling said. "I've been learning a lot from Cam, too. He's been showing me the ropes. It's not going to happen overnight, and I'm excited to keep working on it. He talks to me and keeps my confidence up. He's been through it all in his career. He's seen the highs and the lows. If he sees me down, he's quick to give me a pat on the back."

Before the win Saturday, Darling was in a 0-3-2 drought.

With Zaitsev on injured reserve, the Maple Leafs recalled defenseman Martin Marincin from the Marlies of the AHL. Marincin, 25, has two goals and five assists with the Marlies this season.

Stalock, Wild shut out Maple Leafs

SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- If Alex Stalock's performance against one of the NHL's offensive powerhouses is any indication of how he will replace the indefinitely sidelined Devan Dubnyk, the Minnesota Wild will be just fine in the interim.

Goals by Tyler Ennis and Mikael Granlund supplemented a 28-save performance by Stalock as the Wild defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-0 on Thursday night at Xcel Energy Center.

Stalock, playing in place of the injured Dubnyk, picked up his fifth win of the season (5-3-1) and fifth career shutout in his first appearance against his former team.

Toronto's Frederik Andersen made 24 saves in seeing his record fall to 17-10-1.

Stalock spent four months in the Maple Leafs organization after he was acquired via trade from San Jose in February 2016. He was immediately waived and spent most of the remainder of the season on the bench of the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies.

Minnesota helped Stalock's cause by blocking 21 Toronto shots and killing off four power plays in winning its fifth straight game at home and fourth in a row overall.

"I think we played a great 60-minute game as a group," Stalock said. "The penalty kill was unbelievable. We kept them to the outside, didn't give them any really grade-A looks and I got to see a lot of pucks, which for me, if I can see the puck, it helps a ton."

The Maple Leafs entered the game ranked fifth in the NHL in goals per game (3.31) and had yet to be shut out this season, but Toronto could not solve Stalock, who made 16 of his saves in the third period.

"They're a strong defensive team," Toronto forward James van Riemsdyk said. "It kind of reminded me of a lot of similar stuff they did to us last time and they do a good job of making it tough to get inside and penetrate towards their net. I felt we had a couple of decent looks, especially in the third period, but the goalie made some good saves too."

Trailing 1-0 after two periods with only 12 shots on goal, Toronto (20-12-1) had the Wild (17-11-3) on their heels early in the third, firing the period's first eight shots.

But Stalock stood tall, denying Tyler Bozak's blast from the center hash marks at 2:22 and a redirect by Van Riemsdyk at 6:12 to preserve the lead until Minnesota's offense could strike once more.

From behind Andersen, Eric Staal slipped a backhand pass between Patrick Marleau and the left post to Granlund, who buried his seventh goal at 8:06 of the final period.

Ennis, one game removed from being a healthy scratch against Calgary on Tuesday, scored his sixth goal of the season and second in his last four games late in the first period.

Wild defenseman Ryan Suter picked off Connor Brown's clearing attempt along the left wing boards and found Ennis alone behind the Toronto net. Ennis stepped out front and beat Andersen with a shot just inside the right post at 18:06.

"I guess everyone plays well with a chip on their shoulder, a little bit of fire," Ennis said. "I think it was more our line got it in, played smart, played hard and played the way we were supposed to and we were successful."

The goal gave Ennis, formerly of the Buffalo Sabres, 22 points in 30 career games against Toronto, his most against any NHL franchise.

Minnesota nearly doubled its lead on a second-period power play when Mike Reilly's shot caromed off the end wall to Charlie Coyle at the right post. But Coyle's shot clipped the post and Ryan Murphy's follow-up hit Andersen's dropped stick before it was covered.

Andersen also made a pair of point-blank saves on Staal early in the period and robbed Matt Cullen on a deflection later in the middle frame.

"I thought (Stalock) had a good game, and I thought they protected him well," Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. "I don't think either team gave up many opportunities so it was a night for the goaltenders that way."

NOTES: Minnesota recalled goaltender Steve Michalek from Iowa of the American Hockey League on Thursday morning. ... Toronto C Auston Matthews sat out his third straight game with a lower-body injury. The Maple Leafs are 5-2-0 this season without their star forward. ... Wild LW Zach Parise and D Jared Spurgeon each skated with the team Thursday but remained out of the Minnesota lineup. ... Toronto D Roman Polak played his 200th game in a Maple Leafs uniform Thursday night. In two stints with the Leafs, Polak has collected 11 goals and 36 points.. ... Wild D Gustav Olofsson and LW Marcus Foligno were healthy scratches for Minnesota, which wraps up its three-game homestand on Saturday afternoon against Edmonton. ... D Connor Carrick and RW Kasperi Kapanen sat out for Toronto, which concludes its three-game trip on Friday night in Detroit.

Giroux's slick pass helps Flyers beat Maple Leafs

PHILADELPHIA -- In their first six seasons as teammates, Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier rarely played together on the same line.

This season, with Giroux moving from center to left wing, the two have been the Philadelphia Flyers' most productive players.

"They're a real good combination, and right now they're in sync," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said after seeing Giroux and Couturier set up each other's goals, including a breakaway game-winner by Couturier on Tuesday night in Philadelphia's 4-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"That's a pretty special play by (Giroux), to be able to get that puck to open ice and let (Couturier) skate onto it."

Couturier's game-winner, which broke a 2-2 tie with 2:55 remaining in regulation, was his 15th goal of the season, matching his career high. It came after Giroux backhanded a pass between his own legs and the legs of Leafs defenseman Nikita Zaitsev.

"With 'G,' you kind of know he can make those plays," Couturier said. "He's so good at that. I just tried to skate as fast as I could and jump on that loose puck."

Travis Konecny and Scott Laughton also scored goals for the Flyers (12-11-7), and goaltender Brian Elliott made 20 saves to earn his fourth consecutive victory. The Flyers' win was their first at the Wells Fargo Center since Nov. 9, snapping an 0-4-2 streak.

Patrick Marleau and James van Riemsdyk scored for the Maple Leafs, who had their three-game win streak snapped. Frederik Andersen stopped 35 shots in the loss. The Leafs (20-11-1) fell to 10-3-1 in one-goal games. They were outshot 39-22.

"We're a good team, and when we haven't played our best, we've been able to find ways to win," said Leafs right winger Connor Brown, who lost an offensive zone faceoff on Couturier's game-winner. "We need to nip this in the bud before it becomes a problem. We're sitting back a little too much, and we're one and done in the offensive zone."

It was the first time this season the Maple Leafs lost a game in which they were leading entering the third period (12-1-0). It was also Philadelphia's first win when trailing after two periods (1-8-2). Toronto coach Mike Babcock said his team "gifted" both of the Flyers' goals in the third period.

"You can't do that," Babcock said. "I thought we were in a real good situation, and in the end we didn't execute on things we normally execute on to win. That's on us. I thought we let this slip. We've got to get one point for sure, if not two."

After seeing Toronto take the first lead of the game late in the second period, the Flyers tied it 5:36 into the third period when Konecny snapped a shot from the point that caromed off Toronto's Dominic Moore and past Andersen. It was Konecny's fourth goal of the season and just his second in 20 games.

The Maple Leafs entered the game with the NHL's sixth-ranked power play. However, they had gone four straight games without a goal on the man-advantage (0-for-9) before van Riemsdyk redirected a point shot by defenseman Morgan Rielly for his 15th goal of the season and sixth on the power play, both team highs.

Giroux opened the scoring 9:21 into the contest with his 13th goal of the season. Couturier cleanly won a right circle faceoff, allowing Giroux to hammer a one-timer past Andersen.

Babcock was furious after the goal, complaining about Marleau being kicked out of the faceoff circle and replaced by Zach Hyman.

"No official tries to be involved in anything, but I didn't like it," Babcock said.

Twenty-seven seconds later, the Maple Leafs tied it when Marleau and Brown broke in on a two-on-one. Marleau elected to shoot and found a short-side opening on Elliott, who appeared to be expecting Marleau to pass. The goal was Marleau's 11th of the season, snapping a four-game pointless streak. It was also Marleau's 1,100th career point, making him the 60th NHL player to reach that milestone.

NOTES: Maple Leafs C Auston Matthews, who leads the team with 26 points, sat out his second consecutive game with an upper-body injury sustained when he collided with teammate Morgan Rielly on Saturday night against the Penguins. Matthews did not skate with the team Tuesday morning. ... Toronto recalled 2014 first-round pick RW Kasperi Kapanen, 21, from the AHL Marlies on Tuesday, but he was a healthy scratch. ... Flyers D Radko Gudas returned from a 10-game suspension for hitting Winnipeg Jets C Mathieu Perreault on the back of the neck with his stick. Gudas forfeited $408,536 in salary. ... The Leafs continue their three-game road trip with stops in Minnesota on Thursday and Detroit on Friday. ... The Flyers continue their five-game homestand on Thursday against the Buffalo Sabres.

Andersen's 47 saves lead Leafs over Flames

TORONTO -- The Toronto Maple Leafs can thank their goaltender, Frederik Andersen, for making a shootout possible.

And then they can be grateful that William Nylander was able to take advantage of the opportunity by scoring the decisive goal in that shootout in a 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night.

Andersen was superb, stopping 47 shots.

"Freddie was huge to help us get the win," Nylander said.

"He was good, in particular in overtime, we gave up Grade-A chances," Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. "Both teams attempted like 70 shots. It was ridiculous."

"Their goalie played well," said Flames left winger Johnny Gaudreau, who missed his shot in the shootout. "I think we had a lot of looks. It's frustrating, we could have easily won that game.

"We had a ton of chances, some good looks in the third and even in overtime. I think we controlled the play most of the time in overtime. You could tell (Andersen) was on his game tonight."

Mark Giordano scored for Calgary (14-12-2) in regulation, and Morgan Rielly (18-10-1) replied for Toronto.

Mike Smith made 28 saves in the Flames goal.

"It was a good hockey game first of all," Flames coach Glen Gulutzan said. "I looked at the way our team played from start to finish, I like our game, put up 47-48 shots on net. The last couple of games we put up almost 90 shots. It was a good road game for us to build off of, (but) we'd like to get two points. You've got to stay with it. Lately, if you look at our games, we haven't had any bounces."

The Flames took the lead at 10:37 of the first period on the power play. Giordano scored his fourth goal of the season as his snap shot from just inside the blue line found its way through traffic. Sean Monahan and Troy Brouwer earned the assists.

Toronto's Matt Martin was serving a holding penalty.

"It was high emotions, a lot of pucks each way," Andersen said. "I felt good. I was a little screened on the goal. ... I think it's important to be able to flip the page, and stay in the present. Just keep going and get ready for the next game. It's going to come and be a challenge, too."

The Flames had a 14-12 advantage in shots on goal in the first period.

"(Andersen) has been unbelievable this past month," Toronto center Mitch Marner said. "He's been the person we can depend on, the person winning us games. He made a couple of huge saves in overtime and in the shootout."

The Maple Leafs tied the game at 18:47 of the second period on the fourth goal of the season by Rielly, a shot from the edge of the left circle near the boards.

"We played a very good game as a team, we were smart defensively," Gaudreau said. "The one goal they scored (came after the puck) bounced off the glass, everyone was scrambling around and he just found a way to shoot it from the side of the boards and it found the net."

The Flames led in shots on goal 26-21 after two periods.

Calgary put the puck into the goal at 5:10 the third period, but the goal was disallowed because the net had been dislodged.

Nylander hit the bar with a shot with just under three minutes to play in the third.

Each team had some good chances in the free-wheeling overtime, but Andersen was particularly good.

The Maple Leafs went on the power play with 31.5 seconds left in the overtime when Gaudreau was penalized for holding, but Calgary held on to force the shootout.

"I didn't think we had very good legs," Babcock said. "In the end, we found a way to win. It will look good in the standings."

NOTES: Calgary RW Jaromir Jagr (lower-body injury) did not play Wednesday because of the nagging injury. He also missed the 4-1 loss to the Maple Leafs in Calgary on Nov. 28. He could play Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens. ... Toronto C Tyler Bozak (illness) returned to the lineup Wednesday after missing a loss to the Canucks in Vancouver on Saturday because of food poisoning. ... The Maple Leafs will visit Pittsburgh on Saturday. ... The Flames travel to Montreal on Thursday.

GAME SUMS

Toronto won shootout 2-1.
First Period-1, Calgary, Giordano 4 (Brouwer, Monahan), 10:37 (pp). Penalties-Martin, TOR, (holding), 9:27; Giordano, CGY, (delay of game), 16:18; Hamilton, CGY, (hooking), 19:48.
Second Period-2, Toronto, Rielly 4, 18:47. Penalties-Gaudreau, CGY, (interference), 13:00; Gardiner, TOR, (cross checking), 19:25.
Third Period-None. Penalties-None.
Overtime-None. Penalties-Gaudreau, CGY, (holding), 4:28.
Shootout-Calgary 1 (Monahan NG, Tkachuk G, Gaudreau NG, Backlund NG), Toronto 2 (Matthews G, Marner NG, Marleau NG, Nylander G).
Shots on Goal-Calgary 14-12-17-5-48. Toronto 12-9-7-1-29.
Power-play opportunities-Calgary 1 of 2; Toronto 0 of 4.
Goalies-Calgary, Smith 12-9-2 (29 shots-28 saves). Toronto, Andersen 16-8-1 (48-47).
A-19,217 (18,819). T-2:52.
Referees-Frederick L'Ecuyer, Wes McCauley. Linesmen-David Brisebois, Mark Shewchyk.

Russell hands Maple Leafs winner in 6-4 victory over Oilers

Associated Press

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Thanks to Kris Russell’s embarrassing mistake, Patrick Marleau wound up with one of the easiest goals of his career Thursday night.

It was a big one, too.

Russell accidentally fired the puck into his own net late in the third period, handing the Toronto Maple Leafs the go-ahead goal in a 6-4 victory over the Edmonton Oilers.

Skating toward the net, Marleau was credited with the winner after Russell’s gaffe with 1:05 remaining.

Following the game, the Oilers defenseman could do little more than shake his head.

“It was a bounce. I turned to try and battle it out and obviously you know what happened,” Russell said. “I thought we came back and played well, but I’m pretty frustrated with the way it ended.”

William Nylander had a goal and two assists for Toronto, and Frederik Andersen stopped 41 shots. Auston Matthews, Dominic Moore, Matt Martin and Nazem Kadri also scored for the Maple Leafs (17-9-1).

As he battled with Kadri for a bouncing puck in the lower part of the faceoff circle, Russell spun around and tried to clear toward the corner, out of harm’s way. Instead, he smacked the puck right through the legs of Edmonton goalie Laurent Brossoit.

When he saw it go in, a dejected Russell slumped his shoulders and bent over at the knees.

“I’m feeling for him right now,” Kadri said. “They did a great job; they earned themselves at least a point in that one and came up a little bit short. Tough bounce, but that’s the way it’s going for us right now. We continued that.”

Russell had tied the score for Edmonton early in the third. Mark Letestu, Zack Kassian and Connor McDavid also scored for the Oilers (10-14-2), who won their previous two games.

Brossoit started in place of injured Cam Talbot, expected to miss at least the next two weeks. Brossoit made 30 saves.

“It was obviously an unfortunate way to end it,” McDavid said. “I think everyone would have wanted overtime — it would have been entertaining. It’s just the way it goes.”

The Maple Leafs scored on their first shot 2:15 into the game when Nylander made a great feed on the power play to set up Matthews for his 13th goal of the season.

Toronto made it 2-0 six minutes into the opening period when Moore beat Brossoit to the stick side with a wrist shot.

The Oilers got back into the game with seven minutes left in the first on a goal by Letestu, but the Maple Leafs responded just 29 seconds later as a turnover at the blue line led to Martin being left alone at the side of the net to score his second of the season.

Edmonton made it a one-goal game again 6 1/2 minutes into the second period as Jujhar Khaira made a nice backhand feed from behind the net to Kassian, who scored his second of the season in as many games.

The Oilers tied it late in the second period when McDavid tipped Russell’s point shot past Andersen.

Toronto moved back in front less than a minute later on a power-play goal by Nylander. Edmonton evened it again three minutes into the third as Russell scored on a drive from the point.

Kadri added an empty-netter with a second left.

“That was a good game. It was fun,” Nylander said. “Two great fan bases in a great building, a good, high-scoring game. It’s cool to be a part of those games. There was a lot going on.”

NOTES: Oilers defenseman Adam Larsson was a surprise scratch with an upper-body injury after participating in pregame warmups.

UP NEXT

Maple Leafs: At the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.

Oilers: At the Calgary Flames on Saturday.

Coyotes win 4-1, stop Maple Leafs' win streak at 6 games

Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) — After a terrible start to the season, the Arizona Coyotes are finally enjoying some success.

Antti Raanta made 26 saves and Arizona ended the Toronto Maple Leafs’ winning streak at six games with a 4-1 victory Monday night.

“I think they’re one of the better teams in the league. We knew we had to play a certain way to beat them,” Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. “It’s hard to do for 60 minutes and tonight I think we did it for the most part.”

Brendan Perlini, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Max Domi and Tobias Rieder scored for the Coyotes (5-15-3), who have won three in a row for the first time this season. They opened with only two wins in their first 20 games.

“We flushed the first 20 games down the drain,” Tocchet said. “I think the last (few) games we’re playing the right way, not going off the grid and being individual.”

Arizona rookie Clayton Keller had two assists to give him 20 points in 23 games.

James van Riemsdyk scored for the Maple Leafs (14-8-0), who were trying to match their longest winning streak since 2003.

“(The Coyotes) were ready to compete at the start. They were better than us,” Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. “When you don’t start on time you don’t deserve good results and we got what we deserved.”

Frederik Andersen had his shutout streak snapped at 1:41:28 when the Coyotes scored in the first period. Andersen, who made 28 saves, had blanked the opponent in back-to-back games.

Toronto star Auston Matthews, playing in his 100th career game, appeared to tie it 2-all with 3:50 to play but the goal was overturned after a replay review because of goalie interference by Zach Hyman.

“I thought it was going to be upheld,” Hyman said. “I think my stick hit his pad. ... I think the goalie had enough time to get across in position, but that’s how they’re calling goalie interference. ... Tough break for us.”

Said Raanta: “I felt their guy spear me and I went inside the net and couldn’t get back in time. Even though I was trying, I didn’t have enough time.”

Matthews, in his second game back from an upper-body injury that cost him four games, wasn’t happy with his performance. He finished with two shots on net.

“I didn’t play very well tonight,” Matthews said. “I don’t really like a lot of plays I made, just turned the puck over. I think it’s just a means of getting back to the level I was playing at before I was injured. It’s obviously frustrating.”

It took the Maple Leafs almost eight minutes to get their first shot on net and they were being outshot 10-1 at the midway mark of the first period.

Perlini put the Coyotes ahead 1-0 at 9:53 while on the power play, taking a cross-crease feed from Derek Stepan and wristing it over a sprawled-out Andersen.

Hyman had a good chance from in close to tie the game late in the period but was turned away by Raanta, who had the paddle of his stick down to close off the bottom of the net.

Toronto started to take control as the first period wore on and earned a power-play chance of its own that carried over with 1:53 of 5-on-4 time to start the second.

The Maple Leafs made use of that man advantage just 33 seconds into the period when van Riemsdyk put home a rebound for his team-leading fifth power-play goal and 11th overall.

Andersen made a big glove save on Christian Dvorak midway through the period to keep it tied, but Toronto ran into penalty trouble leading to Arizona’s second goal.

It only took Ekman-Larsson five seconds on a power play to beat Andersen with a point shot through traffic with 1:43 to go in the period as the Coyotes took a 2-1 lead into the third.

Shots were 17-16 Arizona after 40 minutes.

Toronto’s third straight minor led to the Coyotes starting the third with another power play, but it was Maple Leafs forward Connor Brown who had the best scoring chance, only to be stopped by Raanta.

Babcock shuffled his lines midway through the third looking for a spark to produce the tying goal. Toronto came up with a waved-off goal and hit two posts but was unable to manage an equalizer before Domi and Rieder scored empty-netters.

NOTES: Andersen was selected the NHL’s second star of the week earlier in the day. ... Niklas Hjalmarsson returned to the Coyotes’ lineup after missing 10 games with an upper-body injury. He left in the second period after going face first into the boards, but returned to the ice later in the game.

UP NEXT

Coyotes: Host the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night.

Maple Leafs: At the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night.

Teravainen, Andersen and MacKinnon named NHL Three Stars of the Week

NEW YORK – Carolina Hurricanes left wing Teuvo Teravainen, Toronto Maple Leafsgoaltender Frederik Andersen and ColoradoAvalanche center Nathan MacKinnon have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending Nov. 19.

FIRST STAR – TEUVO TERAVAINEN, LW, CAROLINA HURRICANES

Teravainen led the NHL with five goals and 10 points in four games (5-5—10) to propel the Hurricanes (9-6-4, 22 points) to a trio of victories. He posted 3-1—4, his first career hat trick and second career four-point performance, in a 5-1 triumph over the Dallas Stars Nov. 13. Teravainen then registered two assists in a 6-4 loss to the New York Islanders Nov. 16 and one helper in a 3-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres Nov. 18. He capped the week with 2-1—3, his third three-point outing of the campaign, in a 4-2 victory over the Islanders Nov. 19. The 23-year-old Helsinki, Finland, native paces the Hurricanes with 8-11—19 in 19 contests this season, nearly half his career-high point total from 2016-17 (15-27—42 in 81 GP).

SECOND STAR – FREDERIK ANDERSEN, G, TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Andersen was perfect in two starts, stopping all 75 shots he faced to help the Maple Leafs (14-7-0, 28 points) extend their winning streak to six games. He made a season-high 42 saves in a 1-0 overtime victory against the New Jersey Devils Nov. 16, followed by 33 stops in a 6-0 triumph over the Montreal Canadiens Nov. 18 – the second time he has earned consecutive shutouts in his career (also Jan. 23-25, 2017). The 28-year-old Herning, Denmark, native shares first place in the NHL with three shutouts and ranks second with 12 wins in 18 appearances this season, compiling a 2.88 goals-against average and .914 save percentage.

THIRD STAR – NATHAN MacKINNON, C, COLORADO AVALANCHE

MacKinnon collected 2-5—7 in three games to power the Avalanche (10-8-1, 21 points) to a pair of wins. He established career highs with four assists and five points in a 6-2 victory against the Washington Capitals Nov. 16. After being held off the scoresheet in a 5-2 loss to the Nashville Predators Nov. 18, MacKinnon bounced back with the primary assist on the tying goal in the final minute of regulation and then the overtime winner in a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings Nov. 19. The 22-year-old Halifax, N.S., native leads the Avalanche with 7-15—22 in 19 outings this season, including 6‑11—17 in his past nine games.

Nylander scores late in OT, Maple Leafs beat Devils 1-0

Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) — Toronto coach Mike Babcock had a simple message for William Nylander after he ended a goal slump with the winner.

Nylander struck with 2.2 seconds to play in overtime and Frederik Andersen made 42 saves to help the Maple Leafs beat the New Jersey Devils 1-0 on Thursday night for their fifth straight victory.

“I told him to go thank Freddie because he’s never scored,” Babcock said. “(Nylander) needed to score a goal, right? He hasn’t scored in a while.”

Moments before Nylander scored, Andersen made one of his biggest saves of the night to bail out the 21-year-old Swede after a giveaway.

“He missed his guy and his guy was in home free,” Babcock said. “Those things happen, that’s why you pay the goalie and it was a big save.”

Nylander went 11 games between goals before scoring his fourth of the season and first since Oct. 21. He was fortunate to be on the ice when he scored after taking a longer than average shift.

“I was pretty tired,” Nylander said. “We’d gone back and forth a few times. Low energy. I couldn’t go back the other way after that.”

Babcock said he could sense Nylander’s goal drought was starting to weigh on him.

“When you haven’t scored in a while as a young guy you start thinking too much instead of playing and working,” Babcock said.

“They want to score every night and if you’re a point-getter you think you should be doing that every night.”

Nylander, who has 14 points in 20 games, has tried to stay optimistic despite his slump over the past three weeks and Corey Schneider stopping him three times earlier in the game.

“I had a couple chances in regulation too, a little rattling with them not going in,” Nylander said. “(But) you just have to look at the fact you’re creating chances most of the nights, that’s what’s most important.”

Schneider stopped 24 shots for the Devils.

“I thought it was a real good game by both teams,” Devils coach John Hynes. “From our perpesctive, if we play like this every night I think we’ll be OK. Pretty complete game by us.”

NOTES: Leafs center Auston Matthews was on the ice for the optional morning skate but sat out his fourth straight game with an upper-body injury. Forward Nikita Soshnikov made his season debut for Toronto after being recalled from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League. ... Devils center Travis Zajac made his season debut after recovering from surgery to repair a torn left pectoral muscle.

UP NEXT

Devils: At Winnipeg on Saturday.

Maple Leafs: At Montreal on Saturday night.

Patrick Marleau scores in OT, Maple Leafs beat Bruins 3-2

Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) — Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock thought he’d be heading to Boston with nothing to show for the first meeting of a home-and-home series with the Bruins.

Things turned quickly Friday night, with the Maple Leafs tying it with a minute left in regulation and Patrick Marleau scoring 1:07 into overtime for a 3-2 victory.

“It looked like we’d get nothing and then suddenly we got two (points) so that’s positive,” Babcock said.

David Pastrnak put the Bruins ahead with 5:30 to play and a second remaining on a Boston power play, batting in a rebound while goalie Frederik Andersen was sprawled out after turning away Jordan Szwarz.

Babcock pulled Andersen with 2:04 to go looking for the equalizer and, with exactly a minute to play, James van Riemsdyk tied it at 2, redirecting Mitch Marner’s slap pass from the top of the crease.

Marner then started the rush on the winning goal, slowing up at the blue line while handling the puck to create some space before finding Jake Gardiner, who perfectly placed a low shot in a spot Marleau could get his stick on it. “Both really great plays,” said Marleau. “(Marner’s) coming into his own and playing really well.”

Added Babcock: “Great to see Mitch be important at the end and get a couple points. If you work real hard you’re usually rewarded so good for him.”

Andersen had his second straight solid start, making 33 saves en route to Toronto’s third consecutive win and fifth in a row against Boston dating to last season.

Patrice Bergeron had the other goal for the Bruins, while Brad Marchand returned to the lineup after missing two games with an injury.

“The tying goal we were soft on it, I can’t sugar coat it,” Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. “If you have to ice it, that’s fine. We didn’t get it out, they made a play.”

Anton Khudobin stopped 30 shots in defeat and wasn’t being faulted by his coach after giving his team a chance to take two points on the road.

“Guy’s been real good for us, seems he’s been tightening up his game,” Cassidy said. “Give him credit, he was solid.”

Notes: Leafs forward Auston Matthews missed his second game with an upper-body injury. ... Hockey Hall of Fame inductees were introduced pregame, including players Danielle Goyette, Teemu Selanne, Mark Recchi and Dave Andreychuk, and Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs from the builders category. Clare Drake, inducted as a builder, wasn’t in attendance.

UP NEXT:

Bruins: Host Toronto on Saturday night.

Maple Leafs: At Boston on Saturday night.

Frederik Andersen makes 35 saves, Maple Leafs beat Wild 4-2

Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) — Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau pointed to Toronto goalie Frederik Andersen.

“He won them the game,” Boudreau said.

Anderson made 35 saves to help the Maple Leafs beat the Wild 4-2 on Wednesday night.

Nazem Kadri, Patrick Marleau, Connor Carrick and Connor Brown scored for Toronto. Playing with star center Auston Matthews out day to day with an upper-body injury, Toronto improved to 10-7-0.

Jason Zucker scored twice for Minnesota, and Devan Dubnyk stopped 15 shots. The Wild have lost three in a row to fall to 5-7-2.

“It’s unfortunate we didn’t get the result we wanted,” Boudreau said. “I thought we played a pretty complete game for the most part.”

Toronto coach Mike Babcock shifted Marleau to the middle with Matthews out.

“I don’t want Patty to play in the middle but right now we need him and I thought he stepped up tonight,” Babcock said.

Matthews was scratched for the first time since being drafted in 2016, playing in 98 straight games including all 82 last year in his Calder Trophy winning campaign.

Toronto went the first 8:49 without a shot on net despite having a power-play opportunity only two minutes into the contest.

Kadri finally opened the scoring when a lucky bounce or two benefited Toronto at 12:56 of the first. Morgan Rielly’s point shot missed the net, but the puck ricocheted off the end boards back out front and hit Dubnyk in the leg before caroming into the net. It was announced as Rielly’s goal, but replays showed Kadri got a piece of Rielly’s shot with his stick and he was eventually credited with his ninth goal of the season.

Zucker tied it for Minnesota with 1:45 to play in the first, banging in a rebound from the top of the crease on a play that started with Toronto turning the puck over behind its net.

Marleau restored the lead for Toronto with his sixth of the season 3:47 into the second. He took a pass from Zach Hyman and beat Dubnyk five-hole from between the faceoff circles.

Andersen was solid for Toronto in the second, most notably when the Leafs took three straight minor penalties, including two tripping calls on defenseman Andreas Borgman.

First, he made a big save on Matt Cullen with his right pad to keep it tied before the Leafs rushed the puck up the ice for their second goal. Then he robbed Tyler Ennis from in close after a turnover midway through the frame to hold the lead.

Carrick gave the Leafs some breathing room 3:40 into the third period with his first of the year when his point shot deflected past Dubnyk for a 3-1 lead. Matt Martin was originally credited with the goal.

The Leafs caught a break with 9:37 to play in regulation when Andersen appeared to tweak his right arm and was in discomfort, but he stayed in the game after taking a TV timeout to speak with the training staff at the bench.

Carrick took a roughing penalty and Zucker scored his second of the night while on a power play with 4:59 to go on a similar play as his first goal by banging home a rebound from the top of the crease.

Brown scored an empty-netter with 30 seconds to play.

NOTES: A moment of silence and video tribute was held for Roy Halladay, the former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher who died Tuesday when his private plane crashed. He was 40.

UP NEXT:

Wild: At Montreal on Thursday night.

Maple Leafs: Host Boston on Friday night.

Marner helps Maple Leafs top Golden Knights 4-3

Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) — Mitch Marner looked at two things as he took his turn for Toronto in the shootout. First, he had to get the puck under control as it skidded and bounced on the ice. Then he peered into the face of Vegas goaltender Maxime Lagace.

Marner skated out wide before cutting in, getting Lagace to commit with a deke before tucking the puck into the net to send Toronto to a 4-3 victory over Vegas on Monday night after the Maple Leafs blew a two-goal lead.

“Just trying to take a look at the puck and calm it down then look at the goalie to go eye-to-eye and see what he’s going to react to,” Marner said. “It stayed on my stick fortunately and didn’t bounce away.”

Nazem Kadri had two goals and James van Riemsdyk also scored for Toronto, which led 3-1 after one. Frederik Andersen made 22 saves and stopped three skaters in the shootout.

Kadri has confidence in Marner’s shootout abilities, but he also noticed that the ice had been chewed up from the third period and the back-and-forth of 3-on-3 overtime.

“He’s pretty money. He’s got great hands, he can score, skill player, so he’s kinda made for that,” Kadri said. “I saw the puck rolling on him a little bit to begin with and I got a little nervous for him but he stayed pretty composed and he made it look effortless.”

Deryk Engelland’s third-period goal for Vegas forced overtime. James Neal and Reilly Smith also scored for the expansion Golden Knights, and Lagace stopped 25 shots.

“I thought for the most part we played a solid game,” Engelland said. “A little bit in the first we were a little bit back on our heels and they came out flying. We battled back, played the rest of the game and kept going.”

The win was a much-needed boost for a Maple Leafs team that had dropped five of its past six games — including three losses on a four-game road trip — after starting the year with a 7-1 record.

“Obviously, (giving up a lead) is not something we want to do later down the road, but right now it’s a character win to come back and do that,” Marner said. “We’re happy about this win and now it’s time to build and get ready for the next one.”

Kadri put Toronto in front with a power-play goal 4:14 into the first. A long shot in by Morgan Rielly rebounded off Lagace and Kadri snapped it in from the slot, with van Riemsdyk serving as a screen right on the crease.

Vegas quickly replied with a fluky goal. A long shot deflected off the skate of Neal as he tussled with a Leafs defender and bounced in past Andersen.

Van Riemsdyk restored Toronto’s lead on the power play near the midway point of the first, but Auston Matthews did the heavy lifting on the play.

Carrying the puck down the right wing, Matthews spun around Vegas defenseman Luca Sbisa and drove to the net, getting a shot on Lagace. The rebound came to van Riemsdyk’s stick and he made it 2-1 at 9:31.

Matthews had left the morning skate early with what Leafs coach Mike Babcock described as “soreness.”

“I knew in the morning that I’d play,” Matthews said. “I just wanted to get out there and see how I felt. I felt fine, felt good enough to play.”

Kadri scored his second of the night with 4:57 left in the opening period. Standing in the slot with his back to the net, he took a cross-ice feed from Patrick Marleau, put the puck on his backhand and shot it past Lagace as he fell to his knees.

The pace of the game slowed down in the second, with Toronto having to kill a lengthy two-man advantage starting with a too many men on the ice penalty 12 minutes into the period. Zach Hyman took another penalty 48 seconds later when he was called for goaltender interference after he ran into Lagace on a breakaway. The Maple Leafs argued he had been taken down by a Vegas defender, but the penalty stood.

Although Toronto kept the Golden Knights scoreless for those overlapping power plays, it couldn’t hold them off later in the period with Matthews off for tripping. Smith cut into the Leafs’ lead with just over a minute to go in the second, rifling in a rebound.

Engelland tied it 6:16 into the third, wiring a wrist shot into the far corner of the net over Andersen’s shoulder.

“We’re on a long road trip so I didn’t think we had much jump tonight,” Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said. “Tonight was probably the flattest we’ve played and we still played OK.”

NOTES: The announced attendance was 19,398. ... Toronto FC players Alex Bono and Jay Chapman were in the crowd a day after the Major League Soccer club advanced to the Eastern Conference final.

UP NEXT

Golden Knights: Visit Montreal on Tuesday night.

Maple Leafs: Host Minnesota on Wednesday night.