William Nylander lifts Maple Leafs past Devils in OT

Field Level Media|published: Thu 16th January, 22:12 2025

Jan 16, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies (23) falls over New Jersey Devils goalie Jacob Markstrom (25) in the first period at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

William Nylander scored his second goal of the game at 1:10 of overtime and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the visiting New Jersey Devils 4-3 on Thursday night.

Nylander, who also had an assist, scored on a breakaway to end Toronto's three-game losing streak.

Auston Matthews tied the game at 15:47 of the third period on a 25-foot shot for his second goal of the game -- the third time that Toronto overcame a one-goal deficit.

Mitch Marner and Jake McCabe each added two assists for the Maple Leafs, and Joseph Woll made 21 saves.

Nico Hischier scored two goals and Jack Hughes had a goal and two assists for the Devils, who have played past regulation in four consecutive games, going 1-0-3. Jacob Markstrom stopped 37 shots.

Former Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe was making his first appearance in Toronto as coach of the Devils. He was replaced as Toronto coach by Craig Berube after last season.

The Maple Leafs swept the teams' three-game season series.

Hughes opened the scoring at 2:21 of the first period. He was behind the defense when Johnathan Kovacevic kept the puck in the Toronto zone after a failed clearing attempt. Hughes made a nice move to flip the puck behind Woll on the backhand.

Nylander tied the game at 6:14 of the second period on a one-timer from the high slot under the crossbar after Max Domi's takeaway and feed.

Hischier scored from the left circle after a pass from Jesper Bratt during a power play two minutes later. Oliver Ekman-Larsson was off for tripping.

Matthews tied the game 2-2 during a power play from in front of the net at 7:43 of the third period. Jonas Siegenthaler was serving a tripping penalty.

New Jersey responded with a power-play goal when Hischier knocked in Timo Meier's pass to the front of the net at 9:44 of the third. Ekman-Larsson was off for hooking.

Toronto put John Tavares (lower-body injury) on injured reserve and activated McCabe, who had sat out four games due to an upper-body injury. Tavares was injured during practice on Wednesday.

--Field Level Media

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