The Toronto Maple Leafs extended their winning streak to three, defeating the Utah Mammoth 5-3 at the Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday night.
The Leafs started slowly again, and for the seventh straight game, gave up the first goal. At the 18:49 mark of the first period, Brandon Carlo made an errant d-to-d pass that was intercepted by Mammoth forward Lawson Crouse. Crouse took the puck, circled the Leafs’ net, and centred a pass to a cutting in Michael Carcone, who flipped the puck over Anthony Stolarz to make it 1-0 Mammoth.
Toronto tied the game 4:46 into the second period on William Nylander’s sixth of the season. After some good board work from John Tavares and a quick pass from Matthew Knies. Nylander found himself alone in front of the Mammoth net. The winger did not miss, beating Vitek Vanecek to make it 1-1.
Toronto went ahead on Auston Matthews’ eighth of the year, the captain ripped a goal from the circles at 8:56 of the second, making it 2-1. The Mammoth came back to tie the game later in the period. Defenceman Nikhail Sergachev beat Stolarz with a half slapshot from the blue line that went through the net-minder’s five-hole. The teams took the 2-2 tie into the locker room.
The Leafs took control in the third period. John Tavares netted his seventh of the year, breaking the tie at 8:06. Bobby McMann won a battle behind the net and flung the puck toward the crease. Tavares got to it first and backhanded it past Vanecek for the 3-2 lead. Matias Maccelli padded the Toronto lead, scoring his third of the year against his former teammates to make it 4-2 at 15:40.
Matthew Knies sealed the deal with an empty-netter at 17:01 to make it 5-2.
Mammoth forward Dylan Guenther made the score a little more respectable, notching his fifth of the season at 18:53, for a 5-3 final.
The Maple Leafs will try to extend their winning streak against the Boston Saturday night at the Scotiabank Arena.
