Leafs, Devils fight back with victories at home

Auston Matthews scored the go-ahead goal in the second period, Patrick Marleau had two goals, and the Maple Leafs defeated the Bruins 4-2 on Monday night in Toronto in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

James van Riemsdyk also scored, while Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly added two assists each to help the Maple Leafs pull within 2-1 in the best-ofseven set.

Frederik Andersen stopped 40 shots.

Adam McQuaid and Zdeno Chara scored the Bruins’ goals, Sean Kuraly recorded two assists and Tuukka Rask finished with 26 saves.

The Maple Leafs host Game 4 on Thursday night.

Matthews, who went without a point in the first two games, snapped a 2-2 tie with 5 minutes, 13 seconds left in the second period when he rifled a shot short-side high on Rask from a sharp angle after a great feed down low by William Nylander.

Marleau, whose first score moved him past Gordie Howe for 17th place in career playoff goals, finished off the Bruins with 3:35 left when he cashed in on a 2-on-1 rush. Marleau now has 70 playoff goals.

Taylor Hall had a goal and two assists, setting up Stefan Noesen’s game- winner with 7:05 play, and the Devils scored four times in the third period to claw their way back into their Eastern Conference firstround series with the victory at home.

Rookie Will Butcher had a power-play goal earlier in the third to tie the score at 2-2, and Blake Coleman and Ben Lovejoy added emptynet goals late as the Devils reduced the Lightning’s series lead to 2-1.

Cory Schneider made 34 saves while starting in place of Keith Kinkaid. Schneider, who seemed to hurt his groin in a collision with Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh midway through the final period, survived a late power play to nail down the win.

Alex Killorn and Steven Stamkos each had a powerplay goal and an assist for the Lightning.

Nikita Kucherov added two assists and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 36 saves.

Game 4 is Wednesday.