Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews celebrates his game-winning shootout goal against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena.Bob Frid/Reuters
Auston Matthews and William Nylander, returning from injury, scored in a shootout as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 Saturday in a battle between two struggling Canadian teams.
Matthews had a chance to win the game in three-on-three overtime when he was awarded a penalty shot after Conor Garland was called for hooking but Vancouver goaltender Nikita Tolopilo made the save.
Nicolas Roy and Max Domi scored for Toronto (25-21-9), which snapped a six-game losing streak.
Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Tom Willander scored for Vancouver (18-31-6). The Canucks have two wins in their last 17 games.
Joseph Woll made 28 saves for Toronto, while Tolopilo stopped 39 shot for Vancouver.
Vancouver Canucks' Elias Pettersson fails to score against Leafs goalie Joseph Woll as Auston Matthews, Jake McCabe and Vancouver's Filip Hronek watch during overtime in Vancouver on Saturday.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
After a scoreless first period the teams scored three times in the second.
Lekkerimaki gave Vancouver the lead at 1:55 of the period. He took Liam Ohgren’s pass from the boards and fired a shot past Woll’s stick side for his second goal of the season. Roy tied the game at 13:34 of the second with a shot from the faceoff circle.
Just 71 seconds later, Vancouver’s Evander Kane crossed the blue line and sent a pass across the ice to Willander. The puck went off Willander’s skate, onto his stick and he beat Woll with a shot under his blocker.
Domi tied the game early in the third with a shot that hit Tolopilo’s shoulder then rolled over his back into the net.