Another game, another point for Mitch Marner. The forward picked up a point in his 22nd straight game in a 5-4 win over the Calgary Flames in overtime.
Not only did Marner extend his streak, but he was the hero in overtime with his 12th goal of the season.
Accompanied by a first-period William Nylander goal, Marner extended his streak that began Oct. 27 with a two-point performance against the San Jose Sharks.
Since Marner started that streak, the Maple Leafs have only suffered two losses in regulation time. Marner’s 22-game point streak is the 20th longest in NHL history. It’s the best streak of its kind since Patrick Kane had a point in 26 consecutive games in 2015.
The game got off to a good start for the Maple Leafs. After just over five minutes, Auston Matthews took advantage of a power play to fire a good wrist shot that opened the scoring. Matthews has reached 15 goals this season on the streak.
Looking for a fourth victory in their last five games, the Flames answered the call midway through with two quick goals. Noah Hanifin first tied the game with a fine pass from Jonathan Huberdeau, then Nazem Kadri gave Calgary the lead with his 11th goal of the campaign.
With less than three minutes left in the opening period, Marner picked up an assist on Nylander’s tying goal on the power play to extend his streak.
Midway through the second period, Calgary got back into the driver’s seat thanks to Trevor Lewis scoring with a hard slap shot.
But as in the first half, Nylander made sure to equalize in the dying minutes of the engagement. This time he fired a good wrist shot from the top of the circles for his 18th goal of the season.
In the first minutes of the third period, Hanifin returned to the charge. On the power play, he fired a shot that slowly slipped past Matt Murray to put the Flames back in front.
The Leafs tied the game for the third time in the game moments later when Michael Bunting, well positioned in front of the net, pushed a loose puck into the back of the net to send everyone into overtime.
And obviously, who else but Marner to end the debate? On the power play, Marner got the puck back after his first shot was blocked and fired a snappy wrist shot that ended up in the back of the net for the win.
Matt Murray saved 22 pucks in the win, while Dan Vladar allowed five goals on 34 shots.
Marner will look to extend his streak to 23 games on Tuesday when the Leafs take on the Anaheim Ducks. For their part, the Flames will be the next opponents of the Canadiens on Monday at the Bell Centre.
Worry-free shutout for Kochetkov
Pyotr Kochetkov only needed to save 16 pucks to get the shutout in a 3-0 win over the New York Islanders.
It’s the Hurricanes goaltender’s second shutout this season. His vis-à-vis Ilya Sorokin made 27 saves.
Paul Stastny scored his first goal of the season for the Hurricanes, who have had at least one point in their last seven games (5-0-2).
Jesperi Kotkaniemi scored his team’s second goal when he redirected a Brent Burns shot into the back of the net. Jordan Staal took advantage of a turnover from Noah Dobson to score his team’s last goal.
The Islanders were without the services of Anthony Beauvillier who was sidelined with an upper body injury sustained Friday against the New Jersey Devils.
