Mitchell Marner scored 19 seconds into overtime and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the visiting New York Rangers 3-2 Wednesday night.
Marner scored his 18th goal of the season from close in to complete a nifty individual effort.
Toronto’s Timothy Liljegren tied the game with a goal late in the third period.
Pontus Holmberg also scored and Liljegren finished with two points for the Maple Leafs, who have won the first two games of a five-game homestand and improved to 4-0-1 in their past five. Ilya Samsonov, making his fourth straight start, stopped 27 shots.
Filip Chytil scored twice for the Rangers, who got 32 saves from Igor Shesterkin.
The Maple Leafs scored on their first shot of the game.
Holmberg burst in from the blue line to score his fifth goal of the season on a backhand shot at 2:27 of the first period. Joey Anderson sprung Holmberg with a quick pass after Alexander Kerfoot cleared the puck from the defensive zone.
The Rangers had a 9-8 edge in shots on goal after one period.
Chytil tied the game at 2:09 of the second period with an unassisted goal. His shot directly from the faceoff eluded Samsonov.
Chytil scored his career-best 15th goal of the season at 6:31 of the second on a shot from the lower rim of the right circle. Kaapo Kakko slid a pass to Chytil after a Toronto turnover. Alexis Lafreniere also earned an assist.
The Maple Leafs had a 24-20 advantage in shots on goal after the second period. Toronto had both power plays in the second.
The Rangers went on the power play at 3:34 of the third period and Chris Kreider just missed a good chance.
Shesterkin frustrated the Maple Leafs until Liljegren pounced on a loose puck to tie the game with his fourth goal of the season at 15:49 of the third. John Tavares and William Nylander earned the assists. It was Nylander’s 400th career point.
Tavares hit the crossbar with a shot just before regulation time expired.
Anderson was recalled from the Toronto Marlies of the AHL on Tuesday.
Rangers left winger Will Cuylle, who is from Toronto, made NHL debut. He finished with a minus-1 rating in 5:49 of ice time.
–Field Level Media
