Leafs down the Stars
Evgenii Dadonov had just scored on a silky smooth penalty shot to pull the Dallas Stars even with under nine minutes remaining in regulation.
The night was going one of two ways from there for the Maple Leafs.
Toronto could become tentative having surrendered a lead despite dominating the third period. Or continue to push - not press - for the winner.
Three of the team’s all-stars and its captain rediscovering his offensive touch made sure the latter played out.
Mitch Marner and William Nylander scored 20 seconds apart on the heels of Dadonov’s equalizer as Toronto defeated Dallas 5-4 on Wednesday.
Marner buried his 22nd goal of the season off an Auston Matthews setup to snap a 3-3 tie just 32 seconds after the penalty shot with 8:55 left in regulation.
“We just wanted to get back to work,” Marner said. “Our bench does a good job of staying in the moment, realizing there’s another opportunity to go out there and do something.
“But, same time, not forcing it. That was one of those moments.”
With Scotiabank Arena still buzzing, Nylander then took a pass from John Tavares and fired home his second of the evening and 25th of the campaign 20 seconds later.
“Huge response from Matty and Mitchy,” Nylander said. “We were able to follow that up.”
Matthews, with his NHL-leading 41st, and Tavares also scored and added two assists each for Toronto (26-15-8). Nylander had an assist for another three-point night.
“Each game is gonna present its own challenges,” Matthews said. “There’s gonna be different momentum swings out there. We try to stay focused and present.”
Ilya Samsonov made 27 saves for the Leafs, who connected three times on the power play after falling 3-2 to the New York Islanders on Monday coming out of the all-star break.
Jamie Benn and Wyatt Johnston had the other goals for Dallas (31-14-6). Scott Wedgewood made 26 stops with the Stars resting Jake Oettinger following Tuesday’s 2-1 victory in Buffalo.
Dadonov scored his 12th, and second of the night, on that penalty shot after getting bearhugged by Leafs defenceman Mark Giordano on a breakaway.