4 takeaways from Maple Leafs' buzzer-beating 5-4 win over Rangers

The Toronto Maple Leafs have won three in a row for the first time this season after defeating the New York Rangers 5-4 at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night.

Easton Cowan, Teddy Blueger, Brandon Duhaime, Kirill Marchenko, and Troy Stecher scored for Toronto. Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves on 25 shots.

Here are four takeaways from the night that was.

Troy Stecher continues to impress with game-winning goal against Rangers

So far in this young season, I have been really impressed with Stecher. He's not an offensive or defensive dinamo by any means, but he just does his job, and does it rather quietly. On a d-core that is rather aged, he's one of if not their best skater and is regularly called on to play big minutes.

Last night, he was the hero, with a game-winning goal from the right face-off dot that was slightly tipped and went over the glove of Rangers netminder Dyland Garand.

Stecher was claimed off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers last November, and has now found himself a home in Toronto.

"Dating back to last year, I've really embraced being a Maple Leaf," Stecher said after Thursday night's win. "There's so much passion around the city and so much love for the Leafs. As a player, it's really hard not to feel. It's pretty easy to feel special and be a part of this group. It's more than just us 20 in here; it's a big-time fanbase, and I feel fortunate to be a part of this.

"Just a complete group effort tonight," Stecher added. "Felt like everybody contributed tonight. It wasn't pretty the whole way through but we stuck with it and that's what we are going to take. When we play as a collective group, we can find ways to win games when we are not at our best."

A night of firsts for Maple Leafs fourth line

The fourth line for the Maple Leafs has been pretty noticeable throughout the season, but definitely more so as the season has gone on. They work hard, win battles, and have been rather effective defensively. They have also been in and around it in the offensive zone, but have not been rewarded for it at all. That is until Thursday night.

Duhaime had three points, Blueger had two, and each of them scored their first goal of the season. Zack MacEwen had two points of his own and was particularly noticeable throughout the night.

"Everybody always loves it when those (fourth-line) guys get rewarded. Because they do the dirty work," said Leafs head coach Jim Hiller. "I think that's what makes tonight extra special."

Blueger and Duhaime were always envisioned to be on the fourth line and playing this kind of role. With Dakota Joshua on the long-term injured reserve (LTIR) and Steven Lorentz traded in the Marchenko deal, MacEwen has been given an opportunity that he has taken advantage of.

"Fast, predictable, hard hockey," MacEwen said. "We know what each other is going to do with the puck, we want to get it behind the defence, wear them down for the next line, and when we get rewarded, that's great."

"They've looked really good together," Hiller added. "They give us something, I don't know what you want to call it."

Special teams strike again for Maple Leafs

Earlier on Thursday, I wrote about how the special teams have been the secret sauce for the Maple Leafs' decent start to the season. Right on cue, they did not disappoint against the Rangers.

There were not a ton of penalties in this game for either club, but the Leafs did what they had to do in each scenario. They killed off the Rangers' only power play, and Marchenko scored with the man advantage to give his team the 4-3 lead heading into the third period.

Vibes are high in Toronto

I was at the first preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens. Even for a game that didn't matter, the energy was high at Scotiabank Arena, especially when Gavin McKenna's name was announced before the game.

Those vibes have been steady throughout the first month of the season, and they reached an apex on Thursday.

There were two things that were really hard to miss after Stecher scored the game-winner with less than 30 seconds left. First was the pop in the crowd. They went crazy after his goal. There is so much talk about how dead the crowd can be at Scotiabank, but there have been multiple occasions this season in which that building has been shaking, and one of them was on Thursday.

The second was the reaction from the bench. I think part of it was the fact that these guys really like Stecher, but I can't remember a win in October seemingly meaning this much to a group of players watching from the bench.

I hate how much this team sucks me in, but I can feel it happening, and I don't think I'm going to try and stop it.

Bob makes history on Thursday night

Whether it's his own play or that of his defense in front of him, Bobrovsky has had to deal with the unfortunate storyline that he has given up three goals or more in all but one start this season, and that trend continued against the Rangers.

I personally think he has been much better than the general stats would suggest, but everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Regardless, his most recent win was a big one. Bobrovsky's 459th win tied Henrik Lundqvist for the sixth-most wins in NHL history and tied Lundqvist for the most wins by a goaltender not born in North America.

His legacy in Toronto is yet to be written, but there is zero doubt that the two-time Stanley Cup champion is a bona fide Hall of Famer, and right now, he's ours.

Up next for Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs start a four-game West Coast trip against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday and will continue that trip against the Calgary Flames on Monday.

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