The Toronto Maple Leafs have defeated the Calgary Flames, 5-4, in overtime at Scotiabank Arena! It was an offensive thriller tonight in Toronto, with nine goals scored between both sides! The game also featured a five point night for Maple Leafs forward William Nylander and Mitch Marner extending his point streak! Despite not the best performance in goal from Matt Murray, this Maple Leafs team overcame adversity and powered on through! The Maple Leafs have gotten points in 18 of their last 19 games!
As the first period kicked off, the Toronto Maple Leafs were the team to get things started! An excellent feed from Leafs captain John Tavares that found Denis Malgin in the slot was turned away by Flames goaltender Dan Vladar. After the Leafs strong forecheck, another opportunity for the Maple Leafs arose! A Conor Timmins pass that found William Nylander down low just couldn’t be buried! After Nylander’s pass to Bunting, where Michael just whiffed on it, a massive block by Conor Timmins was then made that sent Bunting on a breakaway, who just couldn’t get the shot off. The play was called for a penalty, as Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin was called for holding. As the Maple Leafs were on the power-play, Maple Leafs forward William Nylander found Auston Matthews all alone in the slot, who buried his wrist shot past Dan Vladar! After trailing 1-0 early, the Calgary Flames started to get their legs going. Flames forward Jonathan Huberdeau found defenseman Noah Hanifin streaking down the left side of the Maple Leafs defensive zone! Hanifin made no mistake with the shot, getting his 2nd-goal of the year to tie the game at 1! A few minutes after Hanifin’s equalizer, ex-Maple Leaf forward Nazem Kadri went high on Leafs goaltender Matt Murray for a 2-1 Flames lead! After the Flames scored their second of the night, Maple Leaf forward William Nylander got a snipe of his own! After a well worked power-play opportunity that found Nylander up high, William walked right into one off a pass from Mitch Marner! Nylander’s goal extended Marner’s points streak to 22 games now! The game was tied at two apiece heading into the first intermission!
In the middle frame of this one, it was a much quieter start than the first period! A few opportunities swinging both ways that neither side could capitalize on just yet! However, near the middle of the period Calgary Flames forward Michael Backlund fired a wrist shot off the post! The rebound was fired into the back of the Leafs net, though, by Flames forward Trevor Lewis! With the Flames leading 3-2, the blue and white started to press! Maple Leafs forward William Nylander threw a shot to the net that found its way in! This was Nylander’s 2nd-goal of the game and his 17th goal of the season! The game was tied 3-3 going into the final period!
In the third period of this one, the offensive thriller continued! Under five minutes into the final frame, what looked like a harmless shot by Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin found its way slowly behind Leafs goaltender Matt Murray! After trailing by one almost midway through the third, Maple Leafs forward William Nylander set up Auston Matthews for a slap-shot that just missed! The rebound bounced right onto the blade of Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting, who tucked it by Vladar! The game was now tied 4-4 with just under fourteen minutes to go! The remainder of the period was full of chances going both ways. The Leafs had some real close opportunities but just couldn’t get one before overtime. The Leafs were leading 31-26 in the shots tally at the end of regulation!
When the puck was dropped for overtime, Leafs fans across the globe must’ve been full of nerves! The team’s overtime record wasn’t exactly promising heading into this one. However, as the Maple Leafs have done all season, they overcame the odds! A Mitch Marner wrister found its way into the net for an overtime power-play goal! That was the end of this one, 5-4 Maple Leafs in overtime! Marner’s goal improved the Maple Leafs record to 18-5-6 for 42 points through 29 games! Another encouraging victory for the Maple Leafs, who just continue to win games in a different fashion, something past Leafs teams have struggled to do.
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