Stecher with 28 seconds left: Maple Leafs edge Rangers 5-4 for third straight win
Troy Stecher's first goal of the season capped a seesaw night in Toronto, where the Leafs' fourth line piled up seven points and Sergei Bobrovsky tied Henrik Lundqvist with career win No. 459.
Troy Stecher had not scored all season. With 28 seconds left on Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena, playing on a delayed penalty, the defenseman took a pass from Morgan Rielly and beat Dylan Garand over the glove — and the Toronto Maple Leafs had a 5-4 win over the New York Rangers, their third straight.
A game that would not settle
The teams traded the lead all night. Easton Cowan opened it on a breakaway just 1:36 in, Mika Zibanejad answered with a deflection, and Toronto's checking line went to work: Teddy Blueger redirected a Brandon Duhaime pass, then Duhaime scored on his own rebound after New York had flipped the game with goals from Oliver Bjorkstrand and Tye Kartye. Kirill Marchenko jammed in a power-play rebound late in the second for a 4-3 Toronto lead, and Alexis Lafreniere tied it from the blue line midway through the third before Stecher's late winner, per NHL.com.
Depth did the damage
Toronto's fourth line of Duhaime, Blueger and Zack MacEwen combined for seven points — two goals and five assists. In the Toronto net, Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves for career win No. 459, tying Henrik Lundqvist for sixth on the all-time list. "That was probably our best game of the year through 60 minutes for me," said Leafs coach Jim Hiller.
For New York, Adam Fox piled up four assists — his third career four-assist game — in a losing effort, and Garand stopped 30. It was still not enough to mask a flat night. "I just didn't like our overall game," said Rangers coach Mike Sullivan.
What it means
Toronto is 6-4-2 and finding an identity beyond its stars, with its bottom six carrying a win for the second time on this streak. The Rangers slip to 7-4-1 and are 1-2-1 in their last four — a strong start losing a little of its shine, with the underlying effort now drawing public criticism from their own bench.