Rielly enjoys 4-assist period as Leafs top Wild
Oct 15, 2019
Mitchell Marner scored a goal and added two assists, Morgan Rielly tied a team record with four assists in one period, and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the visiting Minnesota Wild 4-2 Tuesday night.
Andreas Johnsson contributed a goal and an assist, and John Tavares and Auston Matthews each scored a goal for the Maple Leafs, who won their second consecutive game following a three-game losing streak. Toronto goalie Frederik Andersen made 27 saves.
All of Toronto's scoring came in the second period, with Rielly matching the club assist mark set by Rick Vaive on March 12, 1984.
Luke Kunin and Gerald Mayhew scored, and Devan Dubnyk stopped 30 shots for the Wild, who have lost five of six games this season.
The Wild scored at 5:30 of the first period with Kunin notching his second of the season on a wrist shot from just above the left circle. Kunin had just come onto the ice from the bench, and no Maple Leaf moved to check him, leaving him open to take a pass from Ryan Suter.
It was the sixth time in seven games that the Maple Leafs allowed the first goal this season.
Tavares tied the game at 1:58 of the second period, firing a sharp-angled shot from the left faceoff circle.
The Maple Leafs then scored power-play goals 1:12 apart. Marner scored his third of the season from the left circle on a shot that went in underneath Dubnyk at 7:17 with Spurgeon off for tripping.
After the puck took a weird bounce off the boards, Johnsson took two swipes from the goalmouth before batting in his second goal of the season at 8:29. Ryan Hartman was serving a holding penalty.
Matthews scored his seventh goal at 13:05, knocking in the rebound from Marner's shot. Rielly earned his ninth assist of the season.
Andersen made a save of Zach Parise five minutes into the third period at the end of a Wild three-on-one.
Nearly three minutes later, Johnsson hit the crossbar behind Dubnyk.
Mayhew, a 26-year-old Michigan native making his NHL debut, scored at 18:58 of the third period.
--Field Level Media