McMann, Maple Leafs power past Hurricanes for 3rd straight win

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Bobby McMann scored two goals, Matthew Knies had a goal and an assist, and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-1 at Lenovo Center on Thursday.

Scott Laughton and Auston Matthews also scored, and Max Domi and Nicolas Roy each had two assists for the Maple Leafs (13-11-3), who won the final three games of a six-game road trip (4-2-0).

Joseph Woll made 22 saves through two periods before leaving with a lower-body injury. Dennis Hildeby stopped all nine shots he faced in relief.

“From the start of the trip to now, the confidence with the puck is in a way better spot,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “We talked about puck possession, just making some more plays, wanting the puck a little bit more, working for each other. I think they’ve done a good job of grabbing that.”

Seth Jarvis scored for the Hurricanes (16-8-2), who had won two in a row. Frederik Andersen made 19 saves.

“I think the game came down to (that) we didn’t capitalize on our chances,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “That’s the difference, really. When you start right away and you’re down, it’s tough. It was an uphill battle right from the start.”

Toronto scored on its first shot of the game to take a 1-0 lead 53 seconds into the first period. McMann’s short snap shot from the slot hit the left post before bouncing off Andersen and trickling over the goal line.

The Maple Leafs made it 2-0 at 11:45. Philippe Myers’ dump-in from the red line caromed off the glass and into the slot, where Laughton tapped the puck over Andersen’s right pad.

“Right off a glass stanchion, kind of popped right out to me,” Laughton said. “Honestly, [Andersen] almost saved it. It went off the top of his pad, I think. Good, fortunate bounce, but I’ll definitely take it.”

Jarvis cut it to 2-1 at 15:45. Shayne Gostisbehere received a pass in the slot from Sebastian Aho before wrapping a pass around Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly to Jarvis for a backdoor tap-in.

"It's never easy coming back in this League. You want to have a good start in every game and get rolling," Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal said. "There's a few too many passes in-zone, but they do a great job of staying in lanes. They blocked a ton of shots. It's a little different trying to get pucks through."

Knies scored a highlight-reel goal to extend the lead to 3-1 at 4:44 of the second period. Knies poked the puck away from Gostisbehere at Carolina’s offensive blue line, kept possession after Gostisbehere shoved him to the ice at Toronto’s offensive blue line, then fended off Aho near the right hash marks before flipping a backhand over Andersen’s glove.

“I just got kind of a break. [Gostisbehere] lost his twig there,” Knies said. “I just tried to dip my shoulder and get some space and find the back of the net."

Matthews pushed the lead to 4-1 at 10:39 when he finished a pass from Domi on a 2-on-1. Knies started the play when he intercepted a pass in Toronto’s defensive zone.

“All four lines are just getting it done,” Matthews said. “Everybody is competing. It doesn’t matter who is scoring. Everybody is chipping in doing the little things. I think that’s the biggest takeaway from this trip.”

McMann scored an empty-net goal at 18:16 of the third period for the 5-1 final.

Andersen is 0-4-2 in his past six starts.

“I’m just trying to stay with it and know that things will turn,” Andersen said. “It doesn’t look good. We’re not getting the wins with me in net lately, but I still feel like I’ve got my game. Maybe not perfectly where I want it, but I’ve had worse stretches where things have looked better.”

NOTES: Berube did not have an update on Woll after the game. … The Maple Leafs are the second team since 2009-10 to score on their opening shot of the game in four consecutive games, joining the Tampa Bay Lightning (Nov. 20-26, 2021). … Matthews has five points (two goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak. … Jarvis has five goals in his past four games.