William Nylander’s breakaway goal in overtime gave the Toronto Maple Leafs a 3-2 comeback win over the host Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.
Down 2-0 through the first 26 minutes, Toronto got on the board on a second-period score from John Tavares, then equalized on David Kampf’s goal at 12:31 of the third period.
That set the stage for Nylander’s third goal of the season. An Auston Matthews pass sprung Nylander, who had plenty of room in Chicago’s end for the deciding score.
Jack Campbell made 27 saved to help the Maple Leafs snap their four-game winless streak (0-3-1).
The overtime loss added to the early-season woes for the Blackhawks, who are off to an 0-5-2 start.
Kirby Dach and Alex DeBrincat produced first-period goals to give Chicago the early lead, with Seth Jones assisting on both scores.
The Blackhawks hadn’t led at any point in their first six games, setting an NHL record for most minutes played without a lead to start a season. That streak finally ended at 366 minutes, 41 seconds thanks to Dach’s power-play tally at 5:44.
At 11:48 of the first period, Jones capitalized on a Maple Leafs turnover in the neutral zone and quickly passed to DeBrincat in the Toronto end for the score.
Marner found Tavares in the slot at the 6:14 mark of the second period, and the Leafs captain converted a tremendous backhand.
Kampf followed up in the third period with his first goal for the Leafs, delivering some revenge against this former team. After spending his first four NHL seasons in Chicago, Kampf joined the Maple Leafs as a free agent during the offseason.
Chicago goaltender Kevin Lankinen stopped 37 of 40 shots, delivering a big performance against steady pressure from the Maple Leafs.
Campbell made a huge save on a MacKenzie Entwistle breakaway chance late in the third period.
Four Blackhawks players (Patrick Kane, Henrik Borgstrom, Riley Stillman, Jujhar Khaira) were absent due to COVID-19 protocols.
–Field Level Media