The Toronto Maple Leafs ended the Calgary Flames’ short winning streak with a 5-4 shootout win Friday night at Scotiabank Arena.
The Alberta club had a terrible start to the season. However, head coach Ryan Huska’s team managed to stay afloat with wins in the last two duels.
Despite the loss to the Leafs, the Flames continued to show their willingness to fight. They scored three goals in a row to force overtime.
Calgary then dominated in overtime, but found themselves short on goaltender Joseph Woll. The latter particularly frustrated Andrew Mangiapane and Elias Lindholm, who had excellent scoring opportunities in three-on-three situations.
In the shootout, Woll made four saves on five shots. The Maple Leafs were able to triumph thanks to the success of Mitch Marner and Max Domi.
During regular time, AJ Greer, Martin Pospisil, Nikita Zadorov and Connor Zary scored in the Flames camp. William Nylander (twice), Calle Jarnkrok and John Tavares gave answers to the crowd favorites.
Nylander extended his streak of games with at least one point at the start of the year to 14. In this incredible streak, he collected nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points.
The Maple Leafs and Flames will return to action this Saturday. The former will receive a visit from the Vancouver Canucks, while the latter will be in Ottawa to face the Senators.