Tavares breaks tie in 3rd period, Maple Leafs defeat Mammoth

TORONTO -- On the night John Tavares was honored for scoring his 500th NHL goal, his 501st broke a tie at 8:06 of the third period to help the Toronto Maple Leafs defeat the Utah Mammoth 5-3 at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.

Tavares, who also had an assist, gave the Maple Leafs a 3-2 lead when he backhanded a shot over Vitek Vanecek’s right shoulder after Bobby McMann’s centering pass from behind the goal line bounced into the slot.

“That was a big goal, it meant a lot,” Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews said. “Just to have that celebratory thing before the game, I think it’s a huge honor to play with a guy like that who has accomplished so much in his career and is as good a person as he is a player and teammate. I can’t say enough great things about him and the kind of professional he is and what he brings to our team.”

Tavares, who scored No. 500 in a 6-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 29, was recognized during an on-ice ceremony before the game with his parents, wife and three children for becoming the 49th player to reach the milestone.

“Being honored like that is really, really special and to share with my family is amazing,” Tavares said. “They’ve been on the journey right from the get-go, my parents and now my kids. It’s amazing to share with them. They’re my biggest supporters and sacrifice a lot so I can do what I do. … Even better to follow it up with a big effort today and a big win.”

Matias Maccelli, William Nylander and Matthew Knies also each had a goal and an assist, and Anthony Stolarz made 21 saves for the Maple Leafs (8-5-1), who have won three in a row and five of their past six. Jake McCabe had two assists.

“Good solid effort all around,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “I thought we played a smart game. That’s a good team over there, a lot of good offense and fast players, and I thought we did a good job keeping them at bay for the most part.”

Michael Carcone, Mikhail Sergachev and Dylan Guenther scored, and Vanecek made 14 saves for the Mammoth (9-5-0), who have lost three of their past four following a seven-game winning streak. They won 2-1 in overtime at the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.

“We didn’t play our best game,” Utah coach Andre Tourigny said. “Our execution was very difficult. … Obviously that’s not the way we want to play.

“The effort was not the problem. We could not make a play, we could not execute. Our puck touches were no good. … It was extremely tough for us to connect for a few plays in a row.”

Maccelli, who was acquired from the Mammoth in a trade June 30, made it 4-2 at 15:40 of the when he took a Dakota Joshua pass from behind the net and shot high blocker from the right circle. He had been a healthy scratch for the first time this season on Monday in a 4-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“Personally it felt even better doing it against my old team, and having it be the game-winner too felt really good,” Maccelli said. “It was a fun game. I played with most of those guys for four years. … It was exciting, fun, I enjoyed it. It felt good out there today.”

Knies shot into an empty net at 17:01 to make it 5-2 before Guenther cut it to 5-3 on the rush at 18:53.

The Mammoth went up 1-0 at 18:49 of the first period. Carcone shot over Stolarz’s right shoulder from the top of the crease after taking a pass from Lawson Crouse, who was behind the net after stealing the puck from Brandon Carlo on the forecheck.

Nylander tied it 1-1 at 4:46 of the second period, flipping a shot over Vanecek’s glove from the top of the crease during a delayed penalty after Knies poked the puck to him through traffic. Nylander has an eight-game personal point streak (16 points; five goals, 11 assists).

Matthews scored for the third straight game, putting Toronto ahead 2-1 at 8:56 when he one-timed a pass from Maccelli over Vanecek’s glove from the top of the left face-off circle.

“Maccelli was all over it tonight: slippery, made a great pass to me on my goal and seemed like the puck was following him,” Matthews said. “He had a big goal for us there. I’m sure that one feels good against his old team.

“I think the last week or so I’ve been getting good opportunities throughout each game. Just want to keep that going and play well defensively and be responsible.”

Sergachev tied it 2-2 at 16:27. McCabe’s backhanded clearing attempt from below the goal line was knocked down by Dmitri Simashev, who fed Sergachev for a one-timer just inside the blue line. The assist was the first NHL point for Simashev in his 14th career game.

“They played well. They’re a great team,” Sergachev said. “They played fast, they play with pace, their forecheck was great and it caused us problems because we didn’t do what Coach asked us to do, which was play simpler in the neutral zone and our zone.”

NOTES: Matthews scored his 225th career home goal and tied Dave Keon for second most in Maple Leafs history. … Knies has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in a six-game point streak. … Toronto forward Scott Laughton made his season debut after missing the first 13 games with a lower body injury sustained during the preseason. He was minus-1 in 10:57 of ice time. … Maple Leafs defenseman Simon Benoit did not play (illness).