Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Auston Matthews scored in the eighth straight game in which he has played to fuel the host Toronto Maple Leafs to a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday.
Matthews netted the go-ahead goal at 9:22 of the third period and Alexander Kerfoot tallied 11 seconds later for the Maple Leafs, who recorded a three-game sweep of the Canucks. Toronto improved to 7-0-1 in its past eight games overall and 6-1-0 at home this season.
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Vancouver native Morgan Rielly also scored and Frederik Andersen made 31 saves for the Maple Leafs.
Elias Pettersson scored a power-play goal and Braden Holtby turned aside 16 shots for the Canucks, who have yielded 26 goals during their season-high, five-game losing streak. Vancouver has lost 10 in a row in Toronto dating back to Feb. 8, 2014.
The Canucks held a 27-7 edge in shots through two periods before the Maple Leafs turned the tide in the third.
Mitchell Marner slid a centering feed from the left circle to the slot for Matthews, who one-timed a shot past Holtby to give Toronto a 2-1 lead. Marner extended his point streak to eight games with an assist on Matthews’ 11th goal.
Ilya Mikheyev pressured Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes shortly after the ensuing faceoff, leading to a turnover in front of the net. Kerfoot scored from in close to double the advantage.
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Toronto skated away with a 1-0 lead despite being outshot by a 13-4 margin during the first period.
Marner’s shot from the point was denied in front and Vancouver defenseman Nate Schmidt kicked the loose puck into the right circle while fending off Zach Hyman in front. Rielly alertly deposited the puck past Holtby at 6:38 for his second goal of the season.
Vancouver made Toronto pay after Kerfoot failed to clear the puck during a sequence midway in the second period.
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The Canucks kept the puck in the offensive zone and Pettersson wired a shot from the slot past Andersen to forge a tie at 9:59. Pettersson extended his point streak to four games thanks to his fifth goal of the season.
–Field Level Media