Matthews and Nylander both scored two goals as Toronto battled back from 2-1 and 3-2 deficits in the third period to beat New Jersey 4-3.
Slugging from behind the entire evening, and balanced on the usual mid-season fan revolt, the Toronto Maple Leafs won their first game in more than a week on Thursday. William Nylander scored the overtime goal that put away the New Jersey Devils, led by former Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe.
John Tavares got tangled up with Chris Tanev and fell awkwardly late in Wednesday's practice. The 34-year-old centre was slow to his feet and immediately left the ice.
Tavares exited Wednesday's practice early and is being evaluated, per David Alter of The Hockey News.
Auston Matthews scored twice, and Joseph Woll made 21 saves for the Maple Leafs (28-16-2), who had lost three in a row in regulation. Marner and Jake McCabe, who returned after missing the past four games with an upper-body injury, each had two assists.
Toronto Maple Leafs stars Anthony Stolarz and John Tavares are struggling with injuries. NHL insider Darren Dreger provided updates on their return timelines during Friday’s First Up show.
The Maple Leafs defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-3 in overtime on Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena. The team is off on Friday as they travel to Montreal.
William Nylander scored his second goal of the game at 1:10 of overtime and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the visiting New Jersey Devils 4-3 on Thursday night. Nylander, who also had an assist, scored on a breakaway to end Toronto's three-game losing streak.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without veteran center John Tavares for the foreseeable future after he suffered an injury during a power-play drill at practice on Wednesday. The team announced that Tavares had been placed on injured reserve as a result of the injury, describing it as being an issue with his lower body.
McMann has played 21 minutes with Tavares and Nylander this season and the trio's had success during that time together.
The Leafs’ offensive approach under Craig Berube depends on a hard and heavy forecheck, point shots and bodies around the net. “We gotta find a way to generate shots and get them through and have more traffic there,” Berube said over the weekend. “I didn’t think we won any of the rebound battles.”