Mitch Marner settled the overtime debate by taunting goaltender Igor Shesterkin in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 3-2 win over the New York Rangers on Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena.
• Also read: A frustrating loss for the rocket
• Also read: The bad phase of the lions continues
It took Marner just 19 seconds to break the tension. After penetrating into the opponent’s zone, he tied down the three opposing players by running over Artemi Panarin and K’Andre Miller, among others, before passing the goaltender by falling onto the ice.
It was New York forward Filip Chytil who gave his team a one-goal lead by scoring two goals in four minutes in the second period instead of just one.
Timothy Liljegren sent both teams into overtime towards the end of the third period, taking advantage of a rebound from a John Tavares shot. That game earned William Nylander his 400th career point in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Pontus Holmberg was the other scorer of the win.
The Leafs won a second straight game after losing to the Montreal Canadiens last Saturday.
The suffering of the islanders continues
In Ottawa, the New York Islanders couldn’t end their losing streak, suffering their sixth consecutive loss, being beaten 2-1 by the Senators.
The victory of the “Sens” was nevertheless costly. Goalkeeper Cam Talbot suffered a lower body injury on 22 shots after 21 saves and had to give up his position in the net. As a substitute, Anton Forsberg blocked all 14 shots from the Isles.
Fans of the local favorites had another reason to be interested in this meeting, as it was forward Ridly Greig’s first in the National Hockey League. The 2020 first-round senator pick (28th overall) also received a submission.
On the power play, the Albertan fired a dangerous shot and goalkeeper Semyon Varlamov returned the throw. On the other side of the rink, Claude Giroux shot the disc while diving to thwart the Russian.
Shane Pinto scored Ottawa’s other first-half goal. Giroux and defender Jake Sanderson finished the game with two points each.
Brock Nelson was the Islanders’ lone scorer, grabbing a point in their fourth straight game but not allowing the Big Apple representatives to win. They have won just one of their last 11 games, on January 14 against the Montreal Canadiens.