Nylander ties it late, scores in OT to lift Maple Leafs past Flames

TORONTO -- William Nylander scored twice, including 1:06 into overtime, to help the Toronto Maple Leafs come from behind to defeat the Calgary Flames 2-1 at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.

Nylander cut into the slot from the left wing and shot past David Rittich to give Toronto the win.
"I just got some speed and got a nice pass from [Auston Matthews] and was able to take it to the net. It was nice to be able to score finally," Nylander said.
Michael Hutchinson made 21 saves for the Maple Leafs (15-4-2), who tied the game with 1:28 left in the third period.
"It's always fun [to be in a low-scoring game], but as the game goes on, especially when you're feeling like you're on top of your game, you just become more at ease as the game goes on," Hutchinson said. "It doesn't matter if you're up a goal or down a goal, the longer the game goes, the more comfortable you feel and you're kind of just in a zone."
Andrew Mangiapane scored with 3:27 left in the third, and David Rittich made 37 saves for the Flames (9-9-2), who defeated the Maple Leafs 3-0 on Monday.
"When we needed a big save, [Rittich] made it," Calgary coach Geoff Ward said. "He's coming off two strong performances. He's a guy who once he gets momentum; he's someone who can maintain it. We'll take the three out of four points out of Toronto. I thought there were a lot of positives. We'll take it."
Nylander jammed in a loose puck during a scramble in the slot at 18:32 to tie it 1-1. It was Toronto's first goal in 124:56 and ended Rittich's shutout streak at 137:35.
"It was a scramble in front of the net," Rittich said. "I saw that puck, I tried to cover it and he smacked it in just in front of my glove. I'm going to be OK tomorrow. I'm just not feeling very awesome right now because we lost 2-1 in overtime. I'm there to help guys out. It's my job. I'm doing what I love. I'm playing hockey. What else can I say, what else can I do but save the puck."

Nylander has scored seven times in 21 games this season but had one goal in his prior 10 games. He scored an NHL career-high 31 goals in 68 games last season.
"I know I've underperformed, and I know I can do better," Nylander said.
Toronto forward Zach Hyman said, "Extremely happy for him. He's an incredible player and I think people don't realize how much he cares and how much he wants to win. To see him be the hero tonight and get the last two goals there, it's great. I'm really happy for him. He gets misunderstood a lot of the time but the guys in the locker room know how much he cares."
Rittich stopped Alexander Barabanov on a partial breakaway at 15:29 of the third period to keep the score 0-0.
The Flames went up 1-0 at 16:33 when Mangiapane took a pass in the slot from Elias Lindholm, who was behind the net, and shot over Hutchinson's glove.

Toronto went 0-for-3 on the power play in the first period and has not scored in its past 13 opportunities.
"I think we're definitely out of sync," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. "We've been bouncing around between units with different people, and part of that is the injuries we've been dealing with and haven't found a balance we like. Without a doubt, we have to be better."
NOTE: Keefe said Matthews' wrist was bothering him during the game and that it is an issue the NHL's leading goal-scorer (18) has been dealing with "virtually all season." The forward had a personal 16-game point streak end Monday. ... Toronto avoided being shut out by the same opponent in consecutive games for the first time since Feb. 22 and 25, 1930, by the Ottawa Senators (1-0, 2-0).