The visiting Toronto Maple Leafs snapped their six-game losing streak with a 3-2 shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night.
Auston Matthews redeemed himself with the game-winning shootout tally after he missed a penalty shot in overtime, adding an assist in regulation. William Nylander also scored for Toronto in the shootout while Jake DeBrusk and Elias Pettersson both missed their shots for the Canucks.
Max Domi extended his point streak to five games — his longest with the Maple Leafs — with his game-tying third-period goal. Nicolas Roy also scored for Toronto in the second period, and Joseph Woll had 28 saves.
Swedish youngsters Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Tom Willander scored for Vancouver. Nikita Tolopilo continued his strong run of play in net, stopping 39 of 41 shots.
Lekkerimaki found himself wide open in the high slot 1:55 into the second period, receiving the puck off the tape of Liam Ohgren and ripping it over the shoulder of Woll to open the scoring.
Roy tied it up towards the end of the period off a one-timer. Nicolas Robertson weaved away from defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph, planting the puck on Roy’s stick, who scored the first goal Tolopilo had allowed in over 110 minutes of action.
Willander restored Vancouver’s lead just over a minute later after Morgan Rielly’s turnover left the Leafs a man short on the subsequent odd-man rush. The rookie defenseman received the puck from Evander Kane at the blue line and snapped it past Woll blocker-side.
Toronto stormed back in a third period during which it outshot the Canucks 18-5. Domi knotted it at two early in the third, retrieving the puck from a tangle of skates off a tied-up faceoff and wristing it off Tolopilo’s shoulder. The puck proceeded to bounce off the netminder’s back and into the net.
Both teams exchanged chances in overtime. Garland was gifted an opportunity off a Leafs giveaway in front of the net, only to be thwarted by Woll. Matthews then had the opportunity to end the game on a penalty shot, but stickhandled the puck wide of goal before flipping it into Tolopilo’s pad.
The result marked Toronto’s first win in Vancouver since December of 2019. The Canucks have now lost 15 of their last 17 and are still yet to win consecutive games at home this season.
–Field Level Media
