Three Takeaways from Maple Leafs’ 5-4 OT Win Over Flames

The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Calgary Flames 5-4 in overtime. It was a back-and-forth game, with the Maple Leafs coming from behind at least three different times. Finally, when Jonathan Huberdeau accidentally hit Rasmus Sandin with his stick on the overtime-starting face-off, the Maple Leafs had the break they needed.

It didn’t take long (43 seconds) for the Blue and White to pressure the Flames into a mistake. And, quick-as-a-wink Mitch Marner picked up a rebound and smacked home the winning goal. It was only the Maple Leafs’ second overtime win all season. They’ve lost six in the extra session.

The Maple Leafs improved their season record to 18-5-6. The team also extended its streak of 14 games in a row where they’ve registered at least a point. During those 14 games, the team improved its record to 11-0-3. With the overtime loss, the Flames’ record fell to 13-11-4 on the season. It was their second loss in two nights.

In this edition of Maple Leafs’ takeaways, I’ll look at the team’s three key takeaways from the game.

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Takeaway One: The Stars Were the Stars

The Maple Leafs were led by their stars. Marner scored the game-winning goal, but he also registered a first-period assist, which extended his franchise-record point-scoring streak to 22 games. He had 10 goals and 19 assists within that stretch.

I’ll talk about William Nylander later because he had a five-point game, with two goals and three assists. Auston Matthews scored a goal and added two assists. First-line partner Michael Bunting scored his first goal at home and entertained the Scotiabank Arena crowd with his celebration. Bunting extended his own point-scoring streak to eight games.

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Takeaway Two: The Maple Leafs Won Ugly

On the night, goalie Matt Murray was not nearly as good as he’s been. He made some great saves, but he also let in some softies. He bobbled one seemingly harmless shot from Noah Hanifin and just sat still as the puck slowly snaked through his pads. That Calgary power-play goal gave the Flames yet another lead.

But the team came back late in the third period and once again hung in there to tie and then to win the game. It wasn’t pretty, and it certainly wasn’t a shutout. So that streak was broken.

All in all, what a run. The first Flames’ goal broke a streak of 129:13 minutes that the Blue and White had held their opponents off the scoreboard. In the games prior, Murray had thrown a 4-0 shutout against the Dallas Stars and Ilya Samsonov held the Los Angeles Kings off the board with a 5-0 shoutout on Thursday.

However, as ugly as it was, it was still a win. And ugly wins still carry with them two points.

Takeaway Three: William Nylander Is Leading the Maple Leafs in Goals

William Nylander had a career game when he scored two goals and added three assists for five points. He’s now up to 17 goals on the season; and, for the Swedish winger, it was a new career high for single-game points. His career high before last night’s game was three points. He shattered that mark.

Interestingly, the Maple Leafs scored on three power plays. Nylander scored a goal on the first power play and then registered assists on both the other two power plays. Nylander is now tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby and the Minnesota Wild’s Kirill Kaprizov for seventh in goals in the NHL with his 17 goals. He also has 16 assists for 33 points in 29 games.

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