The Toronto Maple Leafs secured a 3-2 overtime win over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday (Nov. 18) in a battle between struggling teams. Following the matchup, Toronto is 4-5-1 in its past 10 games, while St. Louis is 3-3-4. Despite an ever-growing injury list, the Maple Leafs snapped a five-game winless skid, which is their longest since April of 2021, with the victory.
The Maple Leafs and Blues have had a tremendously challenging time keeping opponents off the scoresheet this season. St. Louis has surrendered the most goals per game (3.80) in the league, while Toronto has allowed the second-most markers per contest (3.70). A high-scoring affair appeared to be in order, but the players were committed to cleaning up play in their own ends and adopted a zone-defence style. As a result, scoring chances were challenging, and the game never opened up. It stayed that way in what was a low-event overtime until the highlight-reel heroics of John Tavares and William Nylander in the final minute.
Nylander Rebounds After Unfortunate Start
A shootout between the Maple Leafs and Blues seemed imminent. The Blues possessed the puck for most of the extra session, but barely did anything with it. They carried it in and out of the offensive zone, but didn’t threaten to score at any point and didn’t have a single shot on goal. Fans were booing as the Blues played keep away.
Tavares, who continues to have one of the better value deals in the league this season, had been on the ice for over a minute before receiving a breakout pass. He carried the puck deep into the Blues’ zone before shielding it along the boards to get a line change orchestrated. Despite being outnumbered 3-on-1, he maintained possession while outworking Pavel Buchnevich and Philip Broberg. The 35-year-old Tavares got his skate on top of the puck and sent it to Morgan Rielly, who found a streaking Nylander off the bench.
Related: Nylander’s OT Winner Lifts Maple Leafs Over Blues 3-2
Nylander scored what will be one of the best goals of the season afterward. He performed a backhand toe-drag around Dylan Holloway before tucking the puck around the pad of Jordan Binnington. The 29-year-old Nylander has picked up at least one point in each of his last 14 appearances. He has eight goals and 23 points during that span. However, his point streak is eight games because he missed three matches due to a lower-body injury in the middle of it. He tallied his 14th career overtime-winner, tying him with Auston Matthews and Mats Sundin for the most in franchise history.
It was a great bounce-back moment for Nylander, who accidentally opened the scoring for the Blues 1:50 into the contest. He batted the puck out of the air and into his own net, granting Nathan Walker the easiest goal he will ever get. Nylander was quick to apologize to Joseph Woll afterward. It was a certainty that the Maple Leafs forward would shrug off the error because of his unflappable nature, and he completed his redemption with an incredibly skillful play to give the Maple Leafs a much-needed victory.
Making a Good First Impression
Troy Stecher and Jacob Quillan made their Maple Leafs season debuts in Tuesday’s matchup. Stecher appeared in six games with the Edmonton Oilers before being claimed off waivers by the Maple Leafs on Saturday (Nov. 15). Quillan joined the big club from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League on Monday (Nov. 17). Stecher and Quillan were noticeable despite logging limited minutes against the Blues.
Stecher drew a penalty after beating Buchnevich to a loose puck and establishing body position. Jake McCabe tied the game just after the holding infraction expired on a wrist shot from the point. He has three goals this season, surpassing his goal output of two from the 2024-25 campaign. Stecher was also jumping into the rush and moving the puck efficiently, which is something most of Toronto’s defenders have been unable to accomplish this season.
Quillan displayed great speed, getting in on the forecheck for some heavy hits on his first shifts of the game. He also created some opportunities and had a premium scoring chance in the second period. However, he passed it off rather than shooting it himself. It was a situation where being more selfish would have been preferable. Still, the Maple Leafs took a 2-1 lead shortly afterward when Sammy Blais set up Steven Lorentz. Blais made a great play to draw several members of the Blues toward him by stopping up off the rush before delivering a great cross-ice pass to Lorentz, who avoided defensive coverage by entering the play from the bench on a line change.
Injuries, Injuries, Injuries
Quillan and Stecher should have plenty of opportunities to increase their roles amid a lengthy and growing list of injury absences for the Maple Leafs. Matthew Knies missed the game due to a lingering lower-body injury, and Blais left Tuesday’s game in the third period because of an upper-body injury. The team was already playing without the services of Matthews (lower body), Brandon Carlo (lower body), Scott Laughton (upper body), Nicolas Roy (upper body), Chris Tanev (upper body), and Anthony Stolarz (upper body).
The Maple Leafs’ makeshift lineup has to find ways to win games, and the depth players on the roster had impressive showings on Tuesday. Getting Woll back in the fold has helped. He made a handful of superb saves, including a couple late in the second period and some more early in the third. The Maple Leafs desperately need their goaltending to shine again. The club has been missing stops in all situations this season, especially the timely ones that protected numerous leads in the 2024-25 campaign.
What Comes Next for the Maple Leafs?
The Maple Leafs host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday (Nov. 20) before embarking on a six-game road trip. Toronto sat back more and more as the game progressed on Tuesday. However, the team was dangerous in transition and had an improved forecheck earlier in the contest. The Maple Leafs need to embrace those facets while maintaining a defensive mindset. There’s still plenty of adversity to overcome, but the last two games have been steps in the right direction.
