John Tavares played the hero for the Toronto Maple Leafs, scoring the game-winning goal in overtime to secure a 2-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.
In his second game back after missing seven due to a broken finger, Tavares took a pass from Mitch Marner on a 2-on-1 break and fired a shot past Malcolm Subban to notch his fourth goal of the season at 2:33 into overtime.
“I’m just trying to get open and make the passing lane as clear as possible,” Tavares said. “I just wanted to finish off a good play.”
Playing in his first NHL start in his hometown of Toronto, Subban made 35 saves in the loss.
“It would have been nice to get the win,” Subban said. “But it was great to play here finally.”
Auston Matthews also scored for Toronto, and Frederik Andersen stood tall with 37 saves to help the Maple Leafs win their third consecutive game.
“He was by far our best player,” Matthews said of Andersen. “He just kept us in it.”
Max Pacioretty opened the scoring for the Golden Knights early in the third period after a mishap by Toronto defenseman Cody Ceci. Nick Holden’s shot bounced into the slot from the point, and Ceci’s attempted clearance ended up on Pacioretty’s stick, who made no mistake in finding the back of the net.
Despite a recent 2-for-32 slump on the power play, Toronto finally converted on their sixth opportunity of the night. Matthews broke free from the boards and rifled a shot over Subban’s shoulder, off the crossbar, to tie the game at 8:14 of the third period.
“We basically said, ‘What do we have to lose?’ and just tried to mix things up,” Matthews said about the power-play goal. “We did a great job of moving around and keeping the penalty kill guessing. We regrouped as a five-man unit and made it work.”
Game Notes:
- Toronto head coach Mike Babcock became the eighth coach in NHL history to reach 700 career victories.
- Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault played his 300th regular-season game.
Up Next:
- Golden Knights: Head to Washington to face the Capitals on Saturday night.
- Maple Leafs: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night.