Andersen makes 47 saves, Leafs edge Flames in shootout

TORONTO — Frederik Andersen made 47 saves in regulation and overtime and stopped three more shots in a shootout in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night.

William Nylander scored the winner in the fourth round of the shootout, deking to the backhand to beat Mike Smith.

Morgan Rielly scored in regulation for the Maple Leafs. Toronto improved to 18-10-1 and moved into second place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind Tampa Bay.

Mark Giordano scored for Calgary, and Smith stopped 28 shots. The Flames have dropped three in a row.

Calgary had control early when Toronto’s Matt Martin went to the box midway through the first period. Giordano made Martin pay for his hooking penalty when his wrist shot from the point went through traffic and beat Andersen midway through the first.

Later in the period, Martin checked Troy Brouwer into the boards between the benches, leading to a brief scrum. Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk appeared to spear Martin from the bench while the altercation ensued, but it went undetected by officials.

Sean Monahan almost doubled Calgary’s lead seven minutes into the second only for Andersen to turn him away from between the hash marks. Andersen was there again to bail out his teammates late in the period on a Toronto power play when Calgary had a 2-on-1 shorthanded break after a turnover at the Flames’ blue line.

Rielly tied it with 1:13 to play in the second, with his shot from the sideboards beating a screened Smith blocker side.

Tom Wilson had two goals and two assists and Alex Ovechkin had a goal and three assists in the Washington Capitals’ victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Nicklas Backstrom ended a 21-game stretch without a goal and added two assists, and Washington’s top-line trio each scored a goal in the first period when the Capitals opened a 3-0 lead. Backstrom hadn’t scored since Oct. 14 in Philadelphia, matching the longest drought of his career. Braden Holtby made 37 saves for Washington to help the Capitals win for the sixth time in seven games. Brett Connolly scored in his third straight game, and Evgeny Kuznetsov added a goal. Wilson had his first four-point game, and Ovechkin also extended his goals streak to three games. Lance Bouma and Jonathan Toews scored for Chicago. The Blackhawks are 0-3-2 in their last five.