Maple Leafs win in OT, hand Stars first loss of season

TORONTO -- Nicholas Robertson scored twice in his season debut, including with 1:14 remaining in overtime, and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Dallas Stars 3-2 at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.

Robertson one-timed a pass from Auston Matthews at the right face-off dot to give the Maple Leafs the win. It was the 21-year-old's first overtime goal and first multigoal game in the NHL.
"It was exciting," Robertson said. "I was just excited. You kind of dream of this stuff to score an overtime winner in the NHL but now for me it's just to keep going and earning every day.
"A 3-on-1 and I'm going out there with the best player and one of the best defensemen in the League (Morgan Rielly), so it was kind of easy to put that one in."

Alex Kerfoot scored and Ilya Samsonov made 26 saves for Toronto (3-2-0), which lost 4-2 to the Arizona Coyotes on Monday.
"It was a good win," Kerfoot said. "That team doesn't give up much. They play well through the neutral zone, don't give you anything off the rush and you have to work for everything you get against them. Our special teams weren't great tonight, that was kind of the difference in how the game ended up but we found a way to get it done in overtime and get the two points."
Scott Wedgewood made 40 saves in his season debut for Dallas (3-0-1).
"It is a good road point," Stars coach Peter DeBoer said. "I thought Wedgewood was excellent. We found a way to get a point in a tough building. We knew they'd be really good and they were. Had we been able to stay out of the box, I liked our chances of winning the game."
Toronto went 1-for-8 on the power play; Dallas was 1-for-4.
"A lot of penalties," Stars forward Tyler Seguin said. "Our PK did a great job but when we are taking so many penalties, it's hard for anybody to really stay in a rhythm but for a road game, it was decent."
Robertson put the Maple Leafs up 2-1 at 1:59 of the third period when he shot from the slot after taking a pass from Michael Bunting, who was in the corner.

Robertson had eight points in five preseason games but was assigned to Toronto of the American Hockey League before being recalled Sunday.
"It's been ups and down for sure (since getting sent down)," Robertson said. "To get sent down given cap space and everything, the situation was tough to grasp. That was tough. But now to get a night like this kind of makes up for it. But I don't just want to have a night, I want to be consistent, play well and help the team."
Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said he had no reservations about using Robertson in overtime.
"He was feeling it," Keefe said. "I had to talk myself out of putting him out earlier (in overtime). I thought he had a good game. A lot of open ice out there, I thought he could make a play and he did. A great finish by him but I loved how the play developed. You had the Rocket Richard Trophy winner coming down the pipe and he makes the right play, gets all the attention of the goalie and puts it over for Nick to finish."
Seguin tied it 2-2 at 7:21 on the power play. The goal was initially waved off due to illegal contact of the goalie. The Stars challenged, and the goal was allowed upon review after it was determined Maple Leafs forward Mitchell Marner initiated the contact.
"I figured it wouldn't count because they said no goal on the ice and then took that long," Seguin said. "I was saying it probably wasn't going to happen, but I didn't think I did anything wrong and I'm one of those guys who always thinks you're innocent."

The Stars went up 1-0 at 14:45 of the first period when Luke Glendening put in a rebound in the slot after Nils Lundkvist shot from the side boards.
Kerfoot tied it 1-1 at 2:31 of the second period on the power play when he put in a rebound from the bottom of the right circle for his first goal of the season.
"We know we have to keep building, keep getting better and that's what the season is all about," Kerfoot said. "We haven't come close to our best right now, but we just have to continue to stick with it, stay together as a group, know that we have to work harder and we're going to get to a better spot."
NOTES: Robertson and his brother, Stars forward Jason Robertson, faced off in a regular-season NHL game for the second time. In their previous meeting March 15, each player was held without a point in a 4-0 Toronto victory. … Robertson is the second player in NHL history to score his first regular-season overtime goal in a game in which his brother was the opponent. The other: Corb Denneny (Toronto St. Pats) against his brother Cy Denneny (Ottawa Senators) on Jan. 22, 1921. … Matthews' assist on the overtime goal was his 200th in the NHL. … Maple Leafs centern John Tavares led all players with eight shots. … Toronto defenseman Victor Mete had one shot in 10:02 in his season debut.