The Toronto Maple Leafs faced a number of obstacles entering their Tuesday night matchup with the St. Louis Blues. The club was in danger of finishing the first quarter of the season under .500, and at the bottom of the Eastern Conference due to their five-game losing skid, and were without team captain Auston Matthews, defenseman Chris Tanev and Brandon Carlo, centers Scott Laughton and Nicolas Roy, and goalie Anthony Stolarz.
To make matters worse, top-line winger Matthew Knies was a late scratch due to a lower-body injury, but Toronto was able to overcome that additional hurdle, as William Nylander scored with 54 seconds in overtime to give the Leafs a 3-2 victory over the Blues.
Jake McCabe and Steven Lorentz also scored for Toronto, and Joseph Woll was excellent in his second outing, with a 28-save effort to notch his first victory of the season. The Leafs fell behind early in very Leafy fashion, as Nylander batted an airborne puck past his own goalie less than two minutes into the first period.
McCabe tied the game at the 5:36 mark on a long shot that beat a screened Jordan Binnington. The contest was more of a tight defensive battle than a wide-open offensive battle, which suited Toronto just fine with their diminished lineup. The clubs exchanged goals in the second, with Lorentz converting after an impressive pass from Sammy Blais, and the Blues tying the game on a Dalibor Dvorsky power play goal.
Late in overtime, John Tavares made an unbelievable play, killing time in the corner of the offensive zone, holding the puck along the boards to allow his tired teammates to get off the ice. He then kicked the puck to a waiting Morgan Rielly, who dished the puck to Nylander, who evaded Dylan Holloway and tucked the puck past Binnington for the victory.
Woll Showing He Can Be The Man
After not facing many shots in the first half of the contest, Woll was quite busy, facing 25 shots in the second and third, including a close-in sprawling save on Blues winger Jordan Kyrou. The Leafs have needed a goalie to keep them in games, and the Missouri native obliged with a good performance.
Quillan Quickster
The Leafs recalled center Jacob Quillan after Roy’s injury, and the 23-year-old Nova Scotia native made an impression, showing excellent speed and registering four hits in just nine minutes. With Toronto showing a general lack of footspeed in the lineup, Quillan could help alleviate that situation, but it is likely for the time being, he returns to the American Hockey League.
With the victory, Toronto is within two points of an Eastern Conference wildcard spot, and evens its record at 9-9-2. The Leafs will host Columbus on Thursday, before heading out on the road for the next six games.
