Troy Stecher scored with 26.3 seconds left in regulation as the Toronto Maple Leafs topped the New York Rangers 5-4 in a back-and-forth affair for their third straight victory Thursday.
Brandon Duhaime, with a goal and two assists, Teddy Blueger, Kirill Marchenko and Easton Cowan provided the rest of the offence for Toronto (6-4-2).
Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves. Zack MacEwen added two assists. Blueger also had an assist for a two-point night.
Mika Zibanejad, with a goal and an assist, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Tye Kartye and Alexis Lafrenière replied for New York (7-4-1), which got 31 stops from Dylan Garand. Adam Fox chipped in four assists.
Stecher’s winner came on a delayed penalty after he took a pass from Morgan Rielly and ripped a shot upstairs.
After the teams traded goals inside the game’s first six minutes, Blueger put Toronto ahead with his first for the club at 10:01 on a shot that just dribbled over the line. New York evened things 2-2 at 2:37 of the second when Bjorkstrand beat Bobrovsky from in tight.
The visitors nudged in front at 6:30 when Kartye tipped home a point shot, but Duhaime buried his own rebound 90 seconds later — also his first goal in blue and white — to get Toronto level again.
Marchenko gave the home side the lead with 50 seconds left in the period on a power play, but Lafrenière knotted the score again at 14:25 of the third to set the stage for Stecher’s late heroics.
Bobrovsky tied Rangers legend Henrik Lundqvist for the most wins by a non-North American goaltender with 459. The pair now share sixth on the all-time list.