Rielly goal gives Leafs third victory in a row

RALEIGH, North Carolina — The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the playoff picture, and they’re playing like they can stay there.

Morgan Rielly scored 2:13 into overtime to lift the Maple Leafs over the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 on Saturday.

Mitch Marner and James van Riemsdyk also scored for the Maple Leafs, who moved one point ahead of the New York Islanders for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 15 games remaining. Toronto has won three straight.

“We know how critical each game is,” said van Riemsdyk, who added an assist. “It seems like we’re going game-for-game with all these other teams around us, and everyone seems to be keeping pace. We did our job tonight, and now we’ve got to be ready for the next one.”

Frederik Andersen made 36 saves for Toronto, including 25 straight to finish the contest.

“We don’t put too much pressure on ourselves,” Andersen said. “It’s a fun time of year. We just need to play the right way and the results take care of themselves.”

Victor Rask and Teuvo Teravainen scored for Carolina, which has lost 11 of 15 games. Ward made 23 saves but couldn’t steer aside Rielly’s shot, which bounced off his left leg pad and angled into the back corner of the net.

The Hurricanes, fighting to stay out of last place in the Metropolitan Division, led twice but couldn’t hold it either time.

“We’ve got find a way to finish plays,” Hurricanes coach Bill Peters said. “I thought some individuals played outstanding. A little more finishing around the net is what we’re needing and what we’re lacking right now.”

Rask opened the scoring when he corralled a rolling puck below the right faceoff dot and flipped it over Andersen’s left shoulder 8:59 into the first period.

The Maple Leafs evened it less than a minute later when Marner connected on a one-timer with a hard wrist shot from the right faceoff circle that zipped past Ward.