Blues stop shutout late, defeat Maple Leafs in OT

TORONTO-- Vince Dunn made the most of an unexpected opportunity to play in front of family and friends near his hometown Tuesday.
The St. Louis Blues defenseman scored 1:43 into overtime for a 2-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre.

Dunn, who found out he would be in the lineup an hour before the game because of teammate Jay Bouwmeester's late arrival after the birth of his daughter Monday, got away from Maple Leafs forward Mitchell Marner and skated 2-on-1 with Paul Stastny. Dunn held the puck then beat Frederik Andersen low blocker side.
WATCH: [All Blues vs. Maple Leafs highlights]
"It's pretty crazy; you dream about playing in this arena when you're a little kid, and to get the opportunity tonight even though I didn't really think I was going to be in," said Dunn, who grew up in Mississauga, Ontario, about a 30-minute drive from Air Canada Centre. "I've had lots of support here from my family and friends, and just very fortunate for the opportunity and really happy we could get the win."
Alexander Steen scored the tying goal with 57 seconds left in the third period, and Carter Hutton made 30 saves for the Blues (27-17-3), who ended a three-game losing streak.

"We did a lot to generate, I thought their goalie played real well tonight," St. Louis coach Mike Yeo said. "We generated some opportunities and secondary opportunities. I thought our game looked more complete than it had in a little while. We looked refreshed and energized, and with that, I thought we played a pretty strong game."
Connor Brown scored a shorthanded goal, and Andersen made 40 saves for the Maple Leafs (25-17-4), who have lost three straight.
"I thought it was a good game, we played well," Andersen said. "We didn't give up too much, I think we did a great job boxing out all game. It's tough when that's the way they tie it up. We've just got to move on and learn from it and get ready."
Steen tied it 1-1 when he put a rebound of Alex Pietrangelo's shot past Andersen's left pad from the top of the crease.
"I think we deserved to tie it, I thought we had our fair share of chances, and I thought Andersen made some great saves obviously," Steen said. "We played a solid hockey game and I think we deserved that goal at least."
Brown scored 10:10 into the third period to give the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead. After the puck bounced over Pietrangelo's stick at the blue line, Brown outraced him in the neutral zone and shot over Hutton's glove to end his seven-game goal drought with his 11th of the season.

"I just think it was a great play by him," Toronto coach Mike Babcock said of Brown. "He's playing on our fourth line, probably not getting the opportunity he deserves. A real good player, plays on our power play, plays on our penalty kill, plays a regular shift, when we're ahead at the end he's out on the ice. He made a real good play. He works every day, he's an important guy on our team."

Goal of the game

Dunn's goal at 1:43 overtime.

Save of the game

Hutton's save on William Nylander 1:20 into overtime.

Highlight of the game

Steen's goal at 19:03 of the third period.

They said it

"It was a tough situation for him because we didn't know he was going to play the game and he didn't know he was going to play the game and it was tough for him to prepare. This was a meaningful game for him, he wanted to play in this game obviously with a lot of family and friends (here). He did a great job being ready to go." -- Blues coach Mike Yeo on Vince Dunn
"I thought we were pretty good, honestly. I thought our line especially, we felt pretty good out there, created some offense, didn't give too much against and had some good legs. Obviously, we had a couple good chances and couldn't capitalize, but I think we played a pretty good game as a team, and we're going 1-0 with three minutes left and we've got to find a way to win." -- Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews

Need to know

Dunn, a 21-year-old rookie, was plus-2 and had a game-high seven shots in 15:05. ... Hutton is 4-0-1 and has allowed 10 goals in his past five starts. ... Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko's three-game point streak ended (two goals, three assists). ... Nylander's four-game point streak ended (one goal, three assists).

What's next

Blues: At the Ottawa Senators on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; TSN5, RDS, FS-MW, NHL.TV)
Maple Leafs: At the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, NBCSP, SNO, NHL.TV)