Matthews’ OT score propels Toronto
Auston Matthews scored his NHLleading 21st goal of the season 59 seconds into overtime and the host Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Winnipeg Jets 43 on Thursday night to snap a threegame losing streak.
“Elite talent,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. “He’s a star. That’s what they do.”
At the end of a long, frantic shift to start an extra period where the Maple Leafs were scrambling to hold on after Morgan Rielly broke his stick, Matthews took a pass from the defenseman heading the other way before roofing a backhand past goalie Connor Hellebuyck.
“There was a lot of chaos … it happened so fast,” Matthews said. “We’d been out there for a while, they’d been out there for a while.”
Capitals 5, Flyers 3: Alex Ovechkin scored his 715th career goal to help Washington beat host Philadelphia for its third straight victory and seventh in eight games. Ovechkin moved within two goals shy of matching Phil Esposito for sixth on the NHL’s career goals list.
Flames 2, Canadiens 1: Josh Leivo scored twice against Montreal in Darryl Sutter’s first game behind the bench in Calgary in his second stint with the team. Sutter took over last week for the fired Geoff Ward.
Islanders 5, Devils 3: Matt Martin and Adam Pelech scored first-period goals, rookie Ilya Sorokin made 19 saves and New York welcomed back fans to Nassau Coliseum by beating visiting New Jersey for its seventh straight victory.
Hurricanes 5, Predators 1: Morgan Geekie scored his first two goals of the season and host Carolina scored three times in a 2:21 span in the first period to beat Nashville for its seventh straight victory.
Bruins 4, Rangers 0: Jake DeBrusk returned to the Boston lineup after being benched one game for lack of effort and scored his first goal in almost a month in a home win over New York.
Penguins 5, Sabres 2: Evgeni Malkin had a goal and assist and visiting Pittsburgh beat Buffalo for its fourth straight victory.
Panthers 5, Blue Jackets 4: Frank Vatrano scored 2:48 into overtime, Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves and Florida beat host Columbus to sweep the two-game series.
Red Wings 6, Lightning 4: Anthony Mantha scored a tie-breaking goal late in the first period, Jonathan Bernier made a season-high 40 saves and Detroit beat Tampa Bay.
Blackhawks 4, Stars 2: Carl Soderberg and Alex DeBrincat scored power-play goals in the second period and visiting Chicago scored on four of its first eight shots in a victory over Dallas.