Mitch Marner had a point in his 18th consecutive game and helped the Maple Leafs win their fifth straight game Wednesday in Toronto, as they defeated the San Jose Sharks 3-1.
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Marner didn’t look set to extend his streak, but Pierre Engvall broke a 1-1 tie, with less than three minutes left in regulation time. Marner then took advantage of the situation, the Sharks having removed their goalkeeper in favor of a sixth skater, to shoot the puck into an empty net.
The small forward of the Toronto formation thus equaled a record of the organization of the Maple Leafs, collecting a point for the 18th game in a row. He joins Darryl Sittler and Eddie Olczyk, who shared this record. He will have the chance to set a new mark when his team visits Tampa on Saturday to face the Lightning.
Auston Matthews, early in the second period, scored the other goal for the winners.
In front of the cage of crowd favorites, Ilya Samsonov made a successful return to the game, he who had been injured since November 5, by blocking 23 of the 24 pucks aimed at him. He only gave in on a throw from Matt Nieto, just over three minutes after Matthews’ success.
In addition, head coach Sheldon Keefe announced after the game that forward Calle Jarnkrok had suffered a groin injury and would be out indefinitely.
The Sabers are scared
In Detroit, the Buffalo Sabers squandered a three-goal lead in the third period, but rallied in the shootout, ultimately defeating the Red Wings 5-4.
The visitors led 4-1 after 40 minutes, but the crowd favorites kept their hopes alive after David Perron’s strike.
Oskar Sundqvist then took matters into his own hands, first closing the gap to a single goal before equalizing 110 seconds later.
Third shooter in the shootout for the Sabres, Jack Quinn was the only skater to hit the target, giving his team the victory.
However, it was another young player, Dylan Cozens, who led his side’s attack during the regulation 60 minutes, shaking the ropes twice.
The Senators come up against Halak
In Ottawa, the Senators tried their best to solve the Jaroslav Halak mystery, but the doorman had the last laugh and helped the New York Rangers win 3-1.
The former Montreal Canadiens masked man was almost perfect, allowing only one goal to Shane Pinto in the second period. Among other things, Halak closed the door to the “Sens” during three numerical advantages.
Offensively, Rangers took advantage of the nets of Jimmy Vesey, Barclay Goodrow and Chris Kreider, respectively in the first, second and last third.