William Nylander scored twice and set up three more as the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied to a 6-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Denver on Saturday night. Nylander’s five-point performance tied his career high and helped Toronto overcome a two-goal deficit late in the second period.
Nick Blankenburg opened the scoring for Toronto just over three minutes into the game, but Nathan MacKinnon responded with a powerful rush through the Maple Leafs’ defence to tie it midway through the first period. MacKinnon then put Colorado ahead again at 15:14, his second goal of the night.
After Jaden Schwartz took a high-sticking penalty early in the second period, Nylander capitalised on the power play to level the score. That goal was the first power-play goal the Avalanche had conceded this season. Brock Nelson restored Colorado’s lead later in the frame, finishing off a rebound to make it 3-2.
Toronto shifted momentum with two goals in quick succession late in the second. Nylander scored his second of the night at 16:47 to draw the Maple Leafs level once more. Forty-six seconds later, Easton Cowan found the net with a one-timer from Morgan Reilly’s pass to give Toronto their first lead since early in the game.
Auston Matthews added two goals and two assists for Toronto. He extended the lead to 5-3 in the third period with a power-play goal and sealed the victory by scoring into an empty net in the final minute. Maple Leafs goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 shots.
Colorado’s Mackenzie Blackwood faced 39 shots and made 16 saves in the loss, his first setback of the season. The Avalanche, who had won their previous two home games, struggled on the power play and went 0 for 5, including eight seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage in the second period.
Logan O’Connor was absent from the Avalanche lineup due to the sudden passing of his father, former NHL defenseman Myles O’Connor.
Toronto has alternated wins and losses to start the season and will conclude their three-game trip with a game against Utah on Tuesday. Colorado will face Dallas on the same night.
According to Yahoo Sports.