Toronto Maple Leafs defeat Pittsburg Penguins 3-2 in OT

Jake McCabe scored at 1:30 of overtime as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Monday.

Auston Matthews added his NHL-leading 65th goal of the season to go along with an assist, while Matthew Knies also scored for Toronto (45-23-9). Ilya Samsonov made 29 saves.

Rickard Rakell and Drew O’Connor replied for Pittsburgh (36-30-12), which are now 6-0-3 over its last nine to get back into the Eastern Conference playoff race.

The Penguins, who could have leapfrogged the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild-card spot with a win, got 20 stops from Alex Nedeljkovic. The Penguins and Red Wings are both tied for the final wild-card berth with 84 points each.

McCabe took a pass from Auston Matthews in the extra period after a near mix-up at Toronto’s bench and buried his eighth goal of the campaign.

Matthews snapped a 1-1 tie on the power play at 1:22 of the third period with Pittsburgh defenceman Erik Karlsson, who wears No. 65, in the box for tripping when he ripped a one-timer three seconds into the man advantage.

The Toronto sniper has scored six times in the last five games, and remains on pace to put up 69 goals with five contests left on the regular-season schedule as he looks to become the first player to hit 70 in more than three decades.

Matthews’ 65 goals matched Alex Ovechkin’s total from 2007-08 — the most by an active player and the NHL’s high-water mark since Mario Lemieux scored 69 in 1995-96.

But Pittsburgh tied it at 13:18 when Drew O’Connor swatted home his 14th off a scramble in the crease to force OT.

The Penguins sat nine points below the playoff cutline on March 27, but have dragged themselves back into the fight thanks to that eight-game point streak heading into Monday — and some pedestrian performances from the teams above and around them in the standings.

Toronto killed off two Pittsburgh power plays, including a great chance off the stick of Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, in a sleepy opening period for the home side before the visitors eventually grabbed the lead.

Evgeni Malkin took advantage of an Ilya Lyubushkin turnover and fed a pass to Rakell, who kicked the puck to his stick before spinning and firing home his 14th with former Leafs winger Michael Bunting creating a screen at 18:06.

Toronto, which has already secured a post-season berth, tilted the ice to start the second with a couple of dominant shifts in the offensive zone before T.J. Brodie found Knies at the lip of the Pittsburgh crease to redirect his 15th past Nedeljkovic.

Leafs winger Mitch Marner, who returned to the lineup Saturday after missing 12 games with a high-ankle sprain, earned his team’s first power play later in the period on a breakaway before another one-on-one opportunity was denied.

The teams then traded chances before Crosby rounded out the period by crashing into the net after being obstructed, taking a puck to the mouth, and colliding with Matthews in a sequence that sent both stars to the ice.

Sid on 70

Crosby was asked before the game about Matthews’ pursuit of 70 goals — something not reached in more than three decades.

“Seems like a crazy number, but he could do it,” said the 36-year-old. “It’s amazing. Speaks a lot to the consistency that he’s had.”

Leafs injuries

Joel Edmundson (undisclosed) could play Thursday when New Jersey visits Scotiabank Arena, but fellow defenceman Timothy Liljegren (upper body) and forward Calle Jarnkrok (hand) are more likely to return next week at the earliest.

Up next

Toronto: Visits the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.

Pittsburgh: Hosts the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2024.