Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Matthew Knies (23) is congratulated by teammates after scoring in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Rangers, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in New York. The Maple Leafs won 3-2. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
February 28, 2025 - 9:15 PM
NEW YORK (AP) — Matthew Knies broke a third-period tie, Anthony Stolarz made 33 saves, and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Rangers 3-2 on Friday night.
Knies scored his 22nd goal at 6:21 of the third, less than three minutes after Will Cuylle tied it for New York with a short-handed goal.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson and William Nylander also scored to help Toronto win its fourth straight National Hockey League game since the 4 Nations Face-off break.
Mika Zibanejad also scored for the Rangers. They had won two in a row.
Ekman-Larsson opened the scoring on a power play 1:47 into the contest. Zibanejad tied it with 6:52 left in the period, deflecting a pass from defenceman Will Borgen.
Nylander scored 51 seconds into the second, jamming a loose puck past goalie Igor Shesterkin for his team-leading 34th goal.
Cuylle tied it at 3:47 of the third with the short-handed goal.
Elsewhere in the NHL on Friday:
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STARS 6 KINGS 2
DALLAS (AP) — Logan Stankoven scored twice, Roope Hintz had a career-high four assists and Dallas beat Los Angeles 6-2.
Jason Robertson had his 25th goal and an assist for the Stars, who were home for the first time in 26 days. Matt Duchene and Wyatt Johnston had power-play goals and Sam Steel scored a short-hander.
Dallas led for good after Duchene made it 2-1 in the first period, scoring his 24th of the season off a nifty pass by Hintz and a secondary assist from Robertson.
Jake Oettinger stopped 29 shots while getting his 28th win, matching the second-most in the NHL.
Darcy Kuemper had 26 saves while Dallas also had at least two other pucks ricochet off the post.
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AVALANCHE 5 WILD 2
DENVER (AP) — Jonathan Drouin and Jack Drury scored 52 seconds apart in a three-goal second period and Colorado beat weary Minnesota 5-2 to pull even with the third-place Wild in the Central Division.
Ross Colton had two goals and an assist and Valeri Nichushkin also scored to help Colorado win its second in a row on coach Jared Bednar’s 53rd birthday.
Nathan MacKinnon, the NHL’s leading scorer with 91 points, assisted on Nichushkin’s goal to extend his home points streak to 16 games. Mackenzie Blackwood made 18 saves.
Coming off a 6-1 loss at Utah the night before, the Wild led 2-1 after the first period on goals by Mats Zuccarello and Vincent Hinostroza.
Drouin tied it at 8:57 of the second, Drury followed with a backhander and Colton made it a two-goal game when he finished a 2-on-1 with 5:21 remaining.
News from © The Associated Press, 2025