John Tavares scored the tiebreaking goal in the third period and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat host Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 Sunday for their first three-game winning streak of the season.
Calle Jarnkrok and William Nylander also scored to help Toronto win for the second time in seven road games. Erik Kallgren had 29 saves to get his first victory of the season.
“I’m just happy about the win,” Kallgren said. “We played so solid defensively. Games like this make it very, very easy for me.”
“We talked about it being a big weekend for us, especially with back-to-backs against two great teams,” Maple Leafs right forward Mitch Marner said.
Stefan Noesen scored and Frederik Andersen had 18 saves for Carolina, which snapped a four-game winning streak.
“We had our chances and at the end of the day we have to play a full 60,” Hurricanes defenceman Jaccob Slavin said.
WATCH l Captain Tavares scores in final frame to propel Leafs past Hurricanes:
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Toronto defeats Carolina 3-1 as John Tavares scores the game winner in the third period.
Tavares skated down the slot, took a pass from Marner and scored at 8:24 of the third on the Maple Leafs’ first shot of the period for a 2-1 lead. Tavares has a team-high eight goals.
“I just tried to put it in a spot where he could just one-touch it in,” Marner said.
Nylander added his fifth with 3:35 remaining to seal the win.
The Maple Leafs won despite Auston Matthews failing to register a shot on goal for the first time this season. He had at least three shots in every previous game and averaged 5.1 per game.
The Maple Leafs were limited to a season-low 21 shots on goal.
“You make one little mistake and they’re going to make you pay,” Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said. “And that was it.”
The Hurricanes had scored at least two goals in each game this season.
“I didn’t think we were great, but we certainly weren’t poor,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We need to capitalize on a couple of chances we had.”
Noesen’s power-play goal at 8:11 of the first period opened the scoring. It was his second of the season and second in four games.
“We were in a good spot there,” Brind’Amour said. “We just didn’t lay the hammer down there and keep going.”
Jarnkrok tied it with 1:30 to play in the second when he scored third goal of the season.
Samsonov out
Maple Leafs goalie Ilya Samsonov went on injured reserve Sunday, a day after sustaining a knee injury vs. Boston.
In his place, Keith Petruzzelli was summoned from Toronto of the AHL for his first NHL assignment to serve as the backup. He was 6-0-0 with the Marlies.
“It has been a little crazy,” Petruzzelli said. “Not much sleep, a lot of travel and a lot of excitement.”