Third-period surge lifts Leafs
MARNER’S PAIR OF GOALS HELP PARK RANGERS
I feel better this week. Through it, I felt like I’ve progressed every day and every week. Hopefully, I’ll continue to do that through this week and I’ll feel even better Sunday. — Giants rookie QB Daniel Jones will start Sunday in Washington, sending veteran
Eli Manning back to the bench
Tin New York
he Toronto Maple Leafs weren’t going to give up leads all game.
As much as the Leafs seemed willing to gift the New York Rangers chances to rally on Friday night, there was an awakening in the third period at Madison Square Garden.
The Leafs had outshot the Rangers 24-12 through two periods but went to the dressing room for the second intermission tied 3- 3, unable to put space between themselves and their lesser hosts.
Toronto got wise to its own ways in the final 20 minutes.
William Nylander and Mitch Marner, each with his second goal of the game, scored within a span of 47 seconds before the period was three minutes old, propelling the Leafs to their fifth win in six games with a 6-3 victory.
The Leafs have nine wins in 13 games under coach Sheldon Keefe. When Mike Babcock was fired on Nov. 20, the Leafs had nine wins in 23 games.
Nylander beat Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev on a shot from a tough angle at 2:10; Marner scored at 2:57 after intercepting the puck in the Rangers end during a Leafs line change and went high on the goalie’s glove side.
With less than four minutes to play, the Leafs added a third in the third when Ilya Mikheyev scored on a wrist shot.
This was defenceman Tyson Barrie in the morning: “We’re still working on when we do get up we have to try to find a way to lock it down and not let them have any life and come back in the game.”
The Leafs, who headed home to meet the 31st- place Detroit
Red Wings on Saturday night, did what good teams should do: Put away opponents in tight games.
The win should serve as a solid piece in the foundation as the club continues to find its footing with Keefe running the bench.
GAME ON
It was Marner’s second twogoal game of the season and first since Oct. 4. Nylander scored two in a game for the third time and first since Nov. 27 … The Leafs enjoyed a 2- 0 lead in the first period for little more than two minutes. After Nylander scored on a rebound at 11: 52 to put Toronto up by two, Brady Skjei scored a bit of a weird goal at 14: 04 to get the Rangers to within one. Skjei appeared to be set to go to his backhand after taking a pass from Mika Zibanejad, but instead the puck bounced off his stick and between the legs of goalie Frederik Andersen, who appeared to be anticipating a backhand move … The Rangers tied the game at 17: 51 after Barrie and Morgan Rielly coughed up the puck behind the Leafs net, further bolstering the notion that mistakes wind up in the net. Barrie’s attempt to move the puck to his partner went awry and Rangers forward Pavel Buchnevich took control, passing to Artemi Panarin, who in turn fed an open Ryan Strome in front … Pierre Engvall opened the scoring at 9: 38, beating Georgiev high on the stick side after taking a pass from Justin Holl. It was the sixth game in a row and 10th of 13 under Keefe that the Leafs led 1- 0 … The Leafs had two goals on Georgiev on 101 shots in two of the team’s meetings last season. They had two goals on their first 10 shots on Friday … Referees Marc Joannette and Brandon Blandina in the second period missed a Skjei slash on Marner on a breakaway, but within minutes, the Leafs were granted a rare 5-on-3 power play. There was some poetic justice as a Marner pass attempt to John Tavares deflected into the net off the stick of Skjei for a 3-2 Toronto lead at 2: 50 … Again, little time for the Leafs to enjoy a lead: Buchnevich collected a loose puck and scored between Andersen’s legs at 5:27 on one of just four shots the Rangers had in the period … Some spunk on the part of Dmytro Timashov, who didn’t like a hit from veteran Rangers defenceman Jacob Trouba and skated over after the whistle to give Trouba a little shot.
LOOSE LEAFS
The word “freedom” has been en vogue since Keefe became coach, in that the Leafs’ skilled players are instructed to take better advantage of their talents. There’s a little more to it than that, defenceman Justin Holl said, especially where it includes the creativity in the offensive zone. “I think we have more freedom, but in a lot of senses it’s not necessarily freedom it’s more than that,” Holl said. “You have to be there to provide an option for the guys on the breakout or in the O zone, so it’s more of a mandatory thing.” … The first person that can help the Leafs draw more penalties, step right up. “I don’t think ( referees are) missing a ton of calls or anything, I think it’s just a weird stretch of games,” Barrie said. “The way we’re trying to hold on to pucks in the offensive zone, hopefully we can start drawing some more.” For just the third time in 13 games with Keefe behind the bench, the Leafs had at least three power plays.