Leafs fight to force OT, fall in extra frame

The Maple Leafs launched a late rally in St. Louis on Tuesday night, scoring a pair of goals in the final frame to force overtime in a 3-2 loss.

LEAFS CREATE CHANCES BUT CAN'T PRODUCE ANY OFFENCE THROUGH FIRST TWO PERIODS

The Maple Leafs' opponent Tuesday was the St. Louis Blues - the hottest team in the NHL, with 10 consecutive wins entering the contest. And the Blues started the game looking like they were exactly the kind of juggernaut their recent record suggested: they outshot Toronto 19-9 in the first frame, and two of those shots beat Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen in the period to give St. Louis a comfortable lead as the second period began.
The middle frame was somewhat of a different story, as the Leafs outshot the Blues 16-13 in that span; however, Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington - who combined with fellow St. Louis netminder Jake Allen to post three straight shutouts prior to Tuesday's game - didn't allow any Buds shot to get past him in the first two periods (and then some), and the Blues carried their 2-0 lead into the third.

HYMAN, MATTHEWS SCORE IN 31-SECOND SPAN OF THIRD TO PULL LEAFS EVEN

Toronto's third period performance was its best of the night, with the Buds breaking St. Louis' consecutive-minutes-without-allowing-a-goal streak at 233:50 at 6:34 when winger Zach Hyman scored his 11th goal of the season at the 6:34 mark:

Thirty-one seconds after Hyman's goal, Leafs centre Auston Matthews produced some prime position in front of Binnington, then knocked a loose puck into the far corner of the net for Toronto's game-tying goal:

Suddenly, a game that looked as if the Blues were in control became a game in which the Leafs gave themselves a clean slate - and a chance to take the lead with approximately two-thirds of the third period remaining.

AFTER MARNER NEARLY SCORES, O'REILLY ENDS IT IN OT FOR BLUES

As usual, Andersen was sharp in net for Toronto, turning aside 38 of 40 Blues shots through the end of regulation time. But 3-on-3 overtime is a roller-coaster affair by design - and after winger Mitch Marner nearly completed a high-speed wraparound scoring attempt, the play moved to the other end of the ice. And that's where Blues forward Ryan O'Reilly scored at the 34-second mark of OT to give the Blues their 11th-straight win.
The Leafs did claw their way back to earn a valuable standings point in this game, and finished their six-game road trip with seven points (3-2-1). Toronto will host Washington Thursday in their next game - Game One of a four-game home stand - and given that the Leafs beat the Capitals 6-3 on Jan. 23, the Caps will want revenge.