Auston Matthews scored at 3:43 of overtime to give the Toronto Maple Leafs their third straight win, 4-3 against the Chicago Blackhawks at Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs (3-0-0) scored twice in the third period to tie it after trailing 3-1.
"As the game went on, we got better and better," Matthews said. "That's the way we want to play. We were up against a pretty good hockey team, they're a team that knows how to win. When you get into these tight games, it's definitely a matter of inches so it's definitely a big win for us as far as confidence goes and we just want to keep this momentum going."
Connor Brown made it 3-2 with 7:00 left, scoring his first goal of the season on a wrist shot from the high slot. James van Riemsdyk deflected a shot by Tyler Bozak past Anton Forsberg with 4:18 left to tie it 3-3.
"I thought we had some good chances, they're definitely a good team where there always seems to be somebody around you getting a stick on it or a guy in the lane you have to shoot around," van Riesmdyk said. "They make you earn your chances and when you get them you really have to bear down."
Richard Panik put Chicago (2-0-1) ahead 3-1 at 7:52 of the third when he scored a power-play goal, putting in a rebound off the end-boards from Gustav Forsling's point shot.
"We had the lead and they're playing catching up and they're pressing and they have some skill," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "They were forcing some plays and they got a lot of loose pucks, we didn't make them turn in the second period and that's where they started getting momentum. They've got some guys with speed off the rush. Their rush game is something you have to give them credit for, it was quick for us."
Nikita Zaitsev made it 2-1 at 10:20 of the second period when he caught Patrick Kane standing still at the blueline and pinched into the slot, taking a cross-ice pass from Brown and putting a wrist shot past Forsberg's blocker. Andersen allowed three goals on 21 shots. Forsberg made 39 saves in his Chicago debut.
Matthews skated in on the left wing and put a wrist shot over Forsberg's glove for his second goal of the season.
Matthews held onto the puck on a 2-on-1 with William Nylander and dragged it around Blackhawks defenseman Michal Kempny before taking a wrist shot that Forsberg stopped with his blocker to keep the score 2-0 at 15:30 of the second period.
Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner had his pass slowed up behind the net by Andersen's stick. Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad put the puck in front where Panik was stopped by Andersen. Toews flipped the rebound into the net over Andersen's glove.
"They're good, they're really good. We gave up a ton of chances tonight, uncharacteristic of us but they've got some amazing players. They're dangerous, give them credit." -- Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville on the Maple Leafs
"Probably the biggest reason why we got a point out of it." -- Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews on Anton Forsberg's performance
"Absolutely, I feel like that's a big part of my game and I feel like I can do that. When you get the ball rolling, it's nice." -- Maple Leafs forward Connor Brown on contributing on offense
Need to know
Matthews overtime goal was the second of his NHL career. His previous overtime goal came on Jan 1, 2017, a 5-4 win against the Detroit Red Wings in the Centennial Classic. Maple Leafs defenseman Calle Rosen had his first NHL point by assisting on Zaitsev's goal.
Connor Brown made it 3-2 with 7:00 left, scoring his first goal of the season on a wrist shot from the high slot. James van Riemsdyk deflected a shot by Tyler Bozak past Anton Forsberg with 4:18 left to tie it 3-3.
"I thought we had some good chances, they're definitely a good team where there always seems to be somebody around you getting a stick on it or a guy in the lane you have to shoot around," van Riesmdyk said. "They make you earn your chances and when you get them you really have to bear down."
Richard Panik put Chicago (2-0-1) ahead 3-1 at 7:52 of the third when he scored a power-play goal, putting in a rebound off the end-boards from Gustav Forsling's point shot.
"We had the lead and they're playing catching up and they're pressing and they have some skill," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "They were forcing some plays and they got a lot of loose pucks, we didn't make them turn in the second period and that's where they started getting momentum. They've got some guys with speed off the rush. Their rush game is something you have to give them credit for, it was quick for us."
Matthews held onto the puck on a 2-on-1 with William Nylander and dragged it around Blackhawks defenseman Michal Kempny before taking a wrist shot that Forsberg stopped with his blocker to keep the score 2-0 at 15:30 of the second period.
Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner had his pass slowed up behind the net by Andersen's stick. Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad put the puck in front where Panik was stopped by Andersen. Toews flipped the rebound into the net over Andersen's glove.
"Probably the biggest reason why we got a point out of it." -- Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews on Anton Forsberg's performance
"Absolutely, I feel like that's a big part of my game and I feel like I can do that. When you get the ball rolling, it's nice." -- Maple Leafs forward Connor Brown on contributing on offense
Need to know
Matthews overtime goal was the second of his NHL career. His previous overtime goal came on Jan 1, 2017, a 5-4 win against the Detroit Red Wings in the Centennial Classic. Maple Leafs defenseman Calle Rosen had his first NHL point by assisting on Zaitsev's goal.
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