Maple Leafs win in OT, Penguins gain in East wild-card race

TORONTO -- Auston Matthews scored his 65th goal of the season before Jake McCabe won it 1:30 into overtime for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 3-2 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Scotiabank Arena on Monday.

McCabe took a seam pass from Matthews in the right face-off circle, drove to the net and shot between Alex Nedeljkovic’s pads from the top of the crease.

“Auston found me on the back side and I was able to sneak one by,” McCabe said. “I thought our start was flat. We responded well in the second. I liked our game to start the third, too, and they get one by us, my guy actually, so it was nice to help. [Ilya] Samsonov was awesome for us all night, so it was nice to get one back for him.”

Matthew Knies scored, and Samsonov made 30 saves for the Maple Leafs (45-23-9), who are 5-1-0 in their past six games.

Toronto trails the Florida Panthers by three points for second in the Atlantic Division with a game in hand.

“I just think not a pretty game by any means for both sides,” Matthews said. “I just thought staying patient, doing a job in our own end and just trying to find a way through a slushy game. [McCabe] is such a competitor, he battles every single night for us, especially in the defensive zone. He plays an important role for us, so it’s always nice to see guys like that get rewarded on the offensive side.”

Rickard Rakell and Drew O'Connor scored for the Penguins (36-30-12), who had won four in a row and are 6-0-3 in their past nine. Nedeljkovic made 20 saves in his ninth straight start.

The Penguins are tied with the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, but Detroit has played one fewer game.

“I just loved our compete level,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “I think our guys are really committed. Their compete level is high, it’s not perfect out there. We are battling hard, we’re trying to play together. The chatter on the bench during the game is great, so we just have to stay with it. It’s a hard-fought point, it’s a big point. Obviously, we are disappointed we don’t get the second one, but it’s a hard-fought point.”

Rakell gave the Penguins a 1-0 lead at 18:06 of the first period when he took a pass from Evgeni Malkin in the slot, spun and shot past Samsonov’s glove from the left face-off dot.

Knies tied it 1-1 at 5:36 of the second period, putting in a cross-crease pass from TJ Brodie at the left post.

“That was unreal. That was pretty incredible (for him) to see that,” Knies said. “I don’t think a lot of defensemen can see that kind of play, and he made a great play and passed it right around their guy. All I had to do was put my stick in a great place. It was a good play by him.”

Matthews put the Maple Leafs back in front 2-1 at 1:22 of the third period with a power-play goal. He one-timed a shot from the high slot past Nedeljkovic off a face-off win by John Tavares.

“It’s incredible man,” McCabe said of Matthews. “We’re in awe just as much as you guys are watching. What I like most about his game is that obviously he is scoring for us, but his defensive details are top-notch. He seems to always be in the right spot. He’s got a phenomenal stick. He’s really helping us out down low for us defensemen and taking charge defensively. He’s not cheating the game to get these goals.”

With the goal, Matthews tied Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals (65 in 2007-08) for the most in a season by an active player. 

“Auston is a sniper, yeah,” Samsonov said. “After 'Ovi,' Auston is probably second. A really good sniper.”

O’Connor tied it 2-2 at 13:38 of the third period, jamming in a loose puck that got behind Samsonov after he made the initial save on a point shot from Pierre-Olivier Joseph.

“Silver lining, I think every point is super valuable, so you are down late in the third and you find a way to get a point, that’s obviously huge, but I think we’ve had a couple situations where our overtimes have hurt us this year,” O’Connor said. “It’s just something we have to be better at and find a way to get that extra point.”

NOTES: Matthews extended his point streak to 11 games (10 goals, 10 assists), tying Clayton Keller of the Arizona Coyotes for the longest active streak in the NHL. ... Samsonov became the second-fastest goalie to win 50 games in Maple Leafs history, doing so in his 80th game. Jack Campbell holds the franchise record with 50 wins in his first 75 games. ... Penguins defenseman Kris Letang had his six-game point streak (one goal, seven assists) end.