Reilly Smith scored his second goal of the game just 23 seconds into overtime, giving the Vegas Golden Knights a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night, extending their winning streak to eight games.
Jack Eichel and Nicolas Roy also scored for Vegas, now winning 12 of 14 games this season. William Karlsson contributed two assists, and Logan Thompson made 28 saves.
In the overtime period, Smith received a breakaway pass from Shea Theodore and lifted a backhand shot over Erik Kallgren for his seventh goal of the season. The win completed a sweep of the season series against Toronto, as Vegas also won 3-1 at home on Oct. 24 to start their streak.
“Enjoying every minute of it,” Smith said. “We’re rolling with the punches and finding ways to win.”
Timothy Liljegren scored twice, and Mitch Marner scored a goal and an assist for Toronto. Erik Kallgren stopped 16 shots. The Maple Leafs had their three-game winning streak snapped, which included victories over Boston and Carolina.
“Tough stretch,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. “Three games in four nights against three elite teams. Five out of six points feel good. But tonight’s a sign that we’ve still got a ways to go in terms of managing the game because that should be six points.”
The Maple Leafs trailed 2-1 after the first period. Kallgren kept them close with breakaway saves on Keegan Kolesar, William Carrier, and Smith in the second period. Marner tied the game with a great individual effort, scoring his third goal of the season with 6:10 left in the second period, extending his point streak to seven games.
Toronto took its first lead with just over three minutes left in the second period when Marner set up Liljegren for his second goal of the night.
In the third period, Marner received a delay-of-game penalty for flipping the puck out of play, but Kallgren made a crucial stop on Chandler Stephenson to kill the penalty. Midway through the period, a mistake at the offensive blue line led to a 2-on-1 short-handed rush, and Smith scored his sixth goal of the season with 8:17 left.
“Got to do a better job of looking up there and keeping fresher guys on the ice,” Marner said. “Especially that time of the game.”
Vegas opened the scoring 45 seconds into the game when Leafs defenseman Rasmus Sandin turned the puck over at the offensive blue line. Carrier’s breakaway shot was stopped by Kallgren, but the puck trickled through, allowing Roy to score his fourth goal.
Toronto responded at 5:05 when Liljegren scored his first goal of the season off a pass from David Kampf. However, Eichel capitalized on a Liljegren giveaway, scoring his sixth goal with 2:05 left in the first period to put Vegas back ahead.
MURRAY GETTING CLOSER
Kallgren has been filling in with both Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov, who have been injured. Murray is set to practice on Wednesday for the first time since injuring his groin/abductor on Oct. 15. Samsonov, who had been carrying the load, suffered a knee injury in Saturday’s win against Boston and is considered week-to-week.
UP NEXT
- Golden Knights: At Buffalo on Thursday night to finish a five-game trip.
- Maple Leafs: Host Pittsburgh on Friday night in the second of a three-game homestand.
