Maple Leafs pull away from Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS --Auston Matthews and Morgan Rielly scored 55 seconds apart in the third period, and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 6-3 at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.

Rielly scored off a shot from the point to make it 4-3 at 10:01, and Matthews extended the lead to 5-3 at 10:56 on a turnaround in the slot that beat Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury blocker side.
"Close game going into the third, they score a big goal. I thought we responded well," Rielly said. "This is a pretty cool place to play, pretty cool building to play in. We were excited to come here. Obviously, we're happy with the result, but there are little things over the course of the game that we can take away as good signs and we're looking forward to keeping this road trip going and hopefully we can keep playing well."
WATCH: [All Maple Leafs vs. Golden Knights highlights]
Mitchell Marner scored a shorthanded goal on a 2-on-1 at 16:33 to make it 6-3.
Matthews had two goals and an assist, Marner and Rielly each had a goal and an assist, and Kasperi Kapanen and Jake Muzzin each had two assists for Toronto (36-18-3), which has won two in a row and is 7-1-1 in its past nine games. Frederik Andersen made 30 saves.
"We drew a lot of penalties tonight (2-for-6 on power play)," Matthews said. "We started off terrible and we were able to get one early, but it still wasn't clicking well. We're a good, fast team drawing penalties and we've to be able to capitalize on the power play."

Paul Stastny, Oscar Lindberg and William Karlsson scored, and Fleury made 37 saves for Vegas (31-24-4), which has lost five straight at home, a team record, and is 2-7-0 in its past nine games.
"We can't get caught up too much in individual areas of the game," Golden Knights forward Max Pacioretty said. "Right now, I think it's everybody needs to dig deep and find a way to get some confidence through hard work."
Andreas Johnsson scored a power-play goal at 13:14 of the first period to give the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead, deflecting a point shot from Jake Gardiner.
Stastny scored a shorthanded goal at 2:46 of the second period to tie it 1-1 following a turnover by Andersen, and Lindberg gave the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead at 7:22 with a shot from the left circle.
"The effort was better than last game," Golden Knights defenseman Deryk Engelland said. "But we've still got some things to clean up."
Patrick Marleau scored 1:30 later to tie it 2-2, and Matthews scored on the power play at 13:25 to make it 3-2. The goal was Matthews' 100th in the NHL. He is the second player selected in the 2016 NHL Draft to reach that mark (Winnipeg Jets forward Patrik Laine has 105).

"It's special," Matthews said. "I've been fortunate to play with a lot of great players on any given night."
Matthews scored his 100th NHL point at T-Mobile Arena on Dec. 31, 2017.
"I like playing here," he said. "The two times we've been here the atmosphere has been unbelievable. The fans are into it. When you're the opposing team it's an easy game to get into. … It's like a big party, so it's fun to play in."
Karlsson tied it 3-3 at 4:12 of the third period on a redirection at the left post.

They said it

"I think a lot of fans circled this one on the calendar. … Vegas is Vegas. It's a lot of fun. We've got a great crowd no matter where we go, and you could definitely hear it here as well." -- Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews
"There are opportunities there to score and to try and win games, or to put us in position to win games. When it's not working, you've just got to look in the mirror and try to worry about yourself and worry about elevating your game to help the team." -- Golden Knights forward Max Pacioretty

Need to know

Matthews has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past two games and has scored seven goals in his past nine games. … Johnsson left the game at 1:28 of the second period with a lower-body injury. … Engelland played in his 600th NHL game. … Golden Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt had his three-game point streak end. … Karlsson's goal was his second in his past nine games.

What's next

Maple Leafs: At the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, SNO, FS-A, NHL.TV)
Golden Knights:Host the Nashville Predators on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ATTSN-RM, FS-TN, NHL.TV)