Nylander scores in OT, Maple Leafs top Blues for 3rd straight victory

ST. LOUIS -- William Nylander scored with 57 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a 5-4 win against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Tuesday.

Nylander stripped St. Louis forward Vladimir Tarasenko from near the blue line and went in on a breakaway to beat Jordan Binnington with a forehand-backhand move to score in his fourth straight game.
Calle Jarnkrok had a goal and two assists, and Ilya Samsonov made 30 saves for the Maple Leafs (22-7-6), who have won three in a row after two straight losses.
"It wasn't the prettiest of hockey games," Toronto captain John Tavares said. "These games can be a crapshoot. Great play by 'Willie' in OT. We'll take the two points."

Jordan Kyrou scored, and Binnington made 32 saves for the Blues (16-16-3), who have lost three straight (0-1-2) since winning four in a row.
Tarasenko was not protecting the puck when Nylander snuck by and took it away off the wall.
"He's got to skate," St. Louis coach Craig Berube said of Tarasenko. "Whether he keeps it in the zone, but he's got to know there's pressure coming and just have more urgency there. I think he can just skate and get separation. I think he'd be fine."
Maple Leafs defenseman TJ Brodie was awarded a penalty shot with 3:36 remaining in overtime after being tackled by Kyrou, but Binnington made a stick save.
"As a general rule, you don't get too critical of these games coming out of the break, even less so when you get two points," Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. "[A] 5-4 game, so there's a lot going on. It's a little bit chaotic."

Jarnkrok's goal gave the Maple Leafs a 4-3 lead at 15:16 of the second period after Pontus Holmberg's power move off the right side to the net.
Kyrou tied it 4-4 at 5:13 of the third period on a wrist shot, using Robert Thomas as a screen.
"A little bit hard to see the puck," Samsonov said. "Your reaction is not too great."

Justin Holl gave Toronto a 1-0 lead at 3:08 of the first period when he followed up Mark Giordano's shot that hit the crossbar right onto Holl, who scored on the rebound into an empty net.
Calle Rosen tied it 1-1 at 7:34 on a one-timer from the top of the left circle with Samsonov down on the ice after taking a pass from Logan Brown.
Tavares put the Maple Leafs ahead 2-1 at 19:03 when his wrist shot from the right circle got through Binnington on the near side.
Alex Kerfoot extended the lead to 3-1 at 5:26 of the second, scoring short-handed on a net-front scramble following a shot from the left point.
"That shorthanded goal hurt," Berube said. "That's just not smart hockey there by us."

Ryan O'Reilly cut it to 3-2 at 7:39, his 250th NHL goal, on a wrist shot from the left circle beating Samsonov to the glove side.
Justin Faulk's power-play goal at 9:30 tied it 3-3, a slap shot from the high slot.
"Yeah, we had some chances to win that game for sure," said O'Reilly, the Blues captain. "It's a little frustrating that way, but they're a dynamic team. Offensively they gave us a lot of issues there and took momentum too much at times. It's tough. We have to defend better against them.
"We kind of gave them a little too much and relied on 'Binner' to keep us in it. We scored some big goals, we kind of stuck with it there and ... it's a good point, but the position we're in right now, how tight this race is going to be, we need two points. It's disappointing that way, but some things to build off of."
NOTES: Nylander extended his point streak to four games (four goals, three assists). ... Toronto improved to 16-0-4 when leading after two periods. ... Thomas had an assist to give him 13 points (four goals, nine assists) the past 13 games. ... Kyrou returned after missing the past two games with an upper-body injury; he has 11 points (seven goals, four assists) his past five games and played 21:02. ... Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich had an assist in his 400th NHL game. He has eight points (four goals, four assists) the past seven games. ... St. Louis placed defenseman Torey Krug on long-term injured reserve Tuesday; he will be re-evaluated in six weeks. Krug was replaced by Rosen, who was a healthy scratch the previous seven games and played 14:02.