Matthews, Maple Leafs defeat Jets in overtime to end losing streak

TORONTO --Auston Matthews scored 59 seconds into overtime and the Toronto Maple Leafs ended a three-game losing streak with a 4-3 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.

Matthews took a pass from Morgan Rielly and shot over Connor Hellebuyck's glove for his NHL-leading 21st goal.
"I just tried to sell shot and take it to the backhand and tried to find some open net," Matthews said.
Mitchell Marner said, "That's a difficult goal for a lot of people but it's not difficult for Auston. I've seen him pull it off a lot of times, so I think nobody's really surprised by it."

Marner had a goal and an assist, and Frederik Andersen made 23 saves for the Maple Leafs (19-7-2), who had lost three straight in regulation for the first time this season.
"This was a big win for us," Marner said. "Obviously we didn't want to let it keep sliding away from us here, so it was a huge win."
Nikolaj Ehlers scored twice and had an assist, and Hellebuyck made 34 saves for the Jets (16-8-2).
"Hellebuyck played a [heck] of a game, he was absolutely unreal tonight," Ehlers said. "It [stinks] right now."
The Maple Leafs and Jets play the third of a three-game set here Saturday.
"They might have got it tonight but the next one, it's going to be on," Hellebuyck said.
Ilya Mikheyev one-timed a pass in the slot from Alex Kerfoot, who was behind the net, to give Toronto a 3-2 lead at 12:39 of the third period. The Jets tied it 3-3 when Paul Stastny deflected a shot from Ehlers at 17:34 with Hellebuyck pulled for an extra skater.
"We're a glass-half-full type of team," Jets captain Blake Wheeler said. "Anytime you pull your goalie and you're down a goal and you tie the game, you feel like you stole a point."

Ehlers put the Jets up 2-1 at 10:50 of the second period after taking a pass from Kyle Connor on a 2-on-1.
William Nylander tied it 2-2 at 6:29 of the third period when he took a pass from John Tavares and shot from the right face-off dot.
"It was a terrific pass from John, I just had an open net and just had to put it in," Nylander said. "I had a couple open nets tonight so at least I scored one."
Hellebuyck made a glove save on Nylander, who was alone in the slot after taking a pass from Tavares at 12:20 of the second period. He stopped Pierre Engvall on a shorthanded breakaway at 15:01 before saving a one-timer from Nylander in the slot at 15:46 to keep the Jets in front.
"Me personally, I thought I stole a lot of goals tonight, so I'm happy with my performance and I'm just looking forward to the next one," Hellebuyck said. "They're a good team over there and we knew they were going to come with their best game. It was a small victory getting the game to overtime, but in this league, we want to win, so we're not cherishing a point but it's better than not getting one."
Matthews credited Hellebuyck for making several difficult saves.
"Hellebuyck played really well, you have to tip your hat to him," Matthews said. "He made some incredible saves. We had some really good looks and he came up big, but I'm proud of the way everybody stuck with it."
Pierre-Luc Dubois intercepted Travis Dermott's pass in the neutral zone before passing to Ehlers, who shot over Andersen's glove in the slot for a 1-0 lead at 16:19 of the first period. Marner tied it 1-1 at 3:14 of the second period.
"I didn't hate our game; I thought we were playing pretty well," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. "We gave them a couple great opportunities to score and they did. We don't want to give them those chances, but aside from that, I didn't dislike much about our game. The difference was we had missed a lot of chances that hadn't gone in and we just had to stay with it and have confidence we'd be able to score enough to win but not give them the next one."
NOTE:The Maple Leafs became the first team in the NHL to reach 40 points this season. It's the first time Toronto has done that since the 1993-94 season.