Maple Leafs edge Avalanche in OT, extend point streak to 10

DENVER -- William Nylander scored at 3:59 of overtime, and the Toronto Maple Leafs extended their point streak to 10 games with a 4-3 victory against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on Monday.

Nylander, who also had an assist, took a pass from Oliver Ekman-Larsson a 2-on-1 rush and beat Trent Miner five-hole with a wrist shot from the right circle.

“I was just jumping up the ice. I didn't know if he was going to pass it or shoot it, and then he slid it through and was able to shoot it five-hole,” Nylander said. “It's a big win. Great team game. So, just want to keep going.”

Auston Matthews had a goal and an assist, and Easton Cowan and Bobby McMann scored for the Maple Leafs (23-15-7), who have won four straight and are 8-0-2 during their point streak. Joseph Woll made 31 saves.

“Good team effort. Everybody was involved and contributed tonight,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. "I don't think they have a regulation loss (at home), right? Couple overtimes now. Three. But they got the best record in the League, so you know you're in a battle.

“It's always a battle here no matter what, but I thought our guys rose up to the occasion and did a good job. That's important, and it shows that we can compete with anybody in the League if we play the right way and do the right things.”

Cale Makar and Martin Necas each had a goal and an assist, and Nathan MacKinnon had three assists for the Avalanche (33-4-8), who have lost three of their past five games (2-2-1). Miner made 28 saves.

It was Colorado's first loss at home since Oct. 23, ending a 17-game winning streak. The Avalanche are 19-0-3 overall at Ball Arena this season.

“Evenly played game, probably,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “Even first, they beat us in the second. I thought we were better in the third, but you got to play a full 60 if you want to win. It's just that simple. So, we weren't quite there tonight.”

Cowan gave Toronto a 1-0 lead at 11:15 of the first period when his backdoor pass for McMann from the left corner deflected inside the right post off the skate of Brent Burns.

“It was a pretty fun game. That's a good team over there, and we stuck to our game and [were] right there with them the whole time,” Woll said. “Just an exciting game all the way through, down to the last shot. 'Willy' coming in clutch again is huge for us. So, yeah, big win for us.”

Makar tied it 1-1 at 16:12. Necas spun away from Jake McCabe, who fell down, above the outside edge of the left circle before sending a cross-ice pass to Makar, who roofed a shot over Woll's left shoulder from the right circle.

“That was great pass by him. I think that's when we're at our best dynamic in the O-zone,” Makar said. “[Burns] and I are kind of rolling around up top and then still being responsible, but then finding those seams and opening them up. So, it was a great pass by Marty, and he started it for us tonight.”

Brock Nelson gave Colorado a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal at 17:53. He one-timed MacKinnon’s backhand centering feed short side past Woll's blocker from the high slot.

McMann tied it 2-2 on a breakaway at 2:12 of the second period. After the Avalanche seemed to win a face-off in the offensive zone, McMann skated into the loose puck between defensemen Samuel Girard and Ilya Solovyov before beating the blocker of Miner with a wrist shot from the left hash marks.

"Sometimes when a puck pops out like that, like neither 'D' is really sure who should get it,” McMann said. “So, sometimes I just got to poke it ahead and try and get the wheels going and see if I can outskate them there.”

Matthews put Toronto in front 3-2 during 4-on-4 play at 10:24 of the third period. He skated into left circle, toe-dragged Josh Manson, and wired a shot over Miner's glove.

“I just felt like I had a bit of a gap or differential between the 'D' and myself, and just tried to shoot it through him, use the screen, and was able to find the back of the net,” Matthews said. “But I just thought all around we played solid. We competed and just didn't let our foot off the gas."

Said McMann: “The way that he did it, too. The way he pulls [it], he can weight shift and pull that puck in. He was able to get that off and it was a beautiful goal and really timely, and the boys were fired up for that one.”

Necas tied it 3-3 at 12:55 when he tapped in MacKinnon’s centering pass at the top of the crease.

“The top guys were good, at least on the offensive side of it tonight. They were heavily involved,” Bednar said. “Those guys don't get left off the sheet very often, and when they do, we need that response. They're all determined guys and [have been] focused all year.”

Maple Leafs forward Nicholas Robertson left the game at 5:27 of the first period after Manson's shot hit him in the left knee.

“We'll see tomorrow. He blocked that shot,” Berube said. “I really haven't talked to the trainers or anything about it yet.”

NOTES: Nylander scored his 50th career game-winning goal, tying Ron Ellis for the fifth-most in Maple Leafs history. He also became the seventh Swedish player in NHL history with 50 career game-winning goals and tied Daniel Sedin (16) for the most overtime goals by a Swedish player in NHL history. ... MacKinnon recorded his 313th career multipoint game, tying Peter Stastny for the second-most in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history. Joe Sakic is first with 473.