Toronto Maple Leafs Beat Rangers 3-2 In Goaltender Showdown
In a game I predicted the outcome of, the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the New York Rangers last night, winning 3-2 in overtime in a packed Scotiabank Arena.
The Rangers came out hard and took the Toronto Maple Leafs to the limit, but ultimately the hometown team were able to get it done.
Mitch Marner was the hero last night, scoring his eighteenth goal of the year just nineteen seconds into overtime to secure the victory for a thrilled home team audience, earning him first star of the game in the process.
The other goal scorers for the Leafs were Pontus Holmberg, with his fifth of the year, and Timothy Liljegren with his fourth.
New York Rangers goaltender, last season’s Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin, stopped 23 of 25 shots to earn his team a point.
Shesterkin was no match for the Leafs starting goaltender, Ilya Samsonov in his fourth straight start for the Leafs, who had another outstanding game in net at the Scotiabank Arena, stopping 27 of 29 shots for a .931 save percentage.
Samsonov has now collected a point in fifteen games straight on home ice, only three behind the franchise record of eighteen set by Harry Lumley in the 1953-1954 season.
With the Leafs next three games at home Samsonov will have every opportunity to beat that record in short time.
Toronto Maple Leafs Milestones
Auston Matthews sixteen game home point streak came to an end as the star centre for the Toronto Maple Leafs was unable to pick up a point last night.
The Leafs captain, John Tavares, picked up an assist in the game but couldn’t find the back of the net, leaving him stuck at 412 career goals, 97th on the all time career goal scoring list.
William Nylander recorded his 400th point with an assist on the Liljegren goal.
With the victory last night the Leafs are now 30-11-8 on the season and have 68 points, leaving them tied for second overall in the league along with the Carolina Hurricanes, who defeated the Dallas Stars 3-2 last night.
The Leafs are in second place in the Atlantic, behind only the league leading Boston Bruins, who have 80 points, and did not play.
Looking Ahead To The Leafs Next Opponent
The Leafs next game is tomorrow against the Ottawa Senators, at the Scotiabank Arena, in Toronto.
The Senators are struggling this year with only 45 points in 47 games and are coming in cold with a 4-6-0 record in their last ten games.
The red hot Leafs are now 7-2-1 in their last ten games and will look to keep the good times rolling against their inter-provincial rivals.
The expected starting goaltenders are Cam Talbot (12-12-1) for the Ottawa Senators, and Ilya Samsonov for the Leafs.
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Game time is at 7:00 and can be seen on Sportsnet.