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TORONTO (AP) — Jake McCabe scored at 1:30 of overtime and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Monday night.
Auston Matthews got his NHL-leading 65th goal of the season to go along with an assist, while Matthew Knies also scored for Toronto. Ilya Samsonov made 30 saves.
In the extra period, McCabe took a pass from Auston Matthews after a near mix-up at Toronto’s bench between Mitch Marner and Tyler Bertuzzi and buried his eighth goal of the season.
“I was waiting to see what Mitch and Bert were gonna do,” McCabe said. “Auston found me on the backside.”
Rickard Rakell and Drew O’Connor scored for Pittsburgh, which is now 6-0-3 over its last nine to get back into the Eastern Conference playoff race. Alex Nedeljkovic had 20 saves.
The Penguins are tied with Detroit for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, and trail the New York Islanders by one point for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
Matthews gave Toronto a 2-1 lead on the power play at 1:22 of the third period when he ripped a one-timer 3 seconds into the man advantage. Matthews has scored six times in the last five games, and remains on pace to put up 69 goals with five games left in the season as he looks to become the first player to hit 70 in more than three decades.
“You know, 60 was crazy. … 65 it’s … you look at it in awe,” Knies said. “It’s pretty incredible what he can do. ... Cross my fingers. I want to see 70.”
Matthews’ 65 goals matched Alex Ovechkin’s total from 2007-08 — the most by an active player and the NHL’s high-water mark since Mario Lemieux scored 69 in 1995-96.
“He’s going about it the right way,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “He’s trusting that his ability is going to shine through — he’s going to be able to score — and however it works out in the end, I think he’ll be content. ... Certainly should be proud of what he’s done, how he’s handled himself, all the way through.”
However, Pittsburgh tied it with 6:42 remaining when Drew O’Connor swatted home his 14th off a scramble in the crease.
The Penguins sat nine points below the playoff cutline on March 27, but have dragged themselves back into the race thanks to its nine-game point streak — and some pedestrian performances from the teams above and around them in the standings.
“Close game,” said Crosby, who had a skate issue and never saw the ice in OT. “We’ll look at this as hopefully an important point here down the road.”
Toronto killed off two Pittsburgh power plays, including a great chance off the stick of Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, in a sleepy opening period for the Maple Leafs.
Evgeni Malkin took advantage of a turnover by Ilya Lyubushkin and fed a pass to Rakell, who kicked the puck to his stick before spinning and firing home his 14th with former Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting creating a screen with 1:54 left in the first period.
Toronto, which has already secured a postseason berth started the second period with a couple of dominant shifts in the offensive zone before T.J. Brodie found Knies at the lip of the Pittsburgh crease to redirect his 15th past Nedeljkovic.
UP NEXT
Penguins: Host Detroit on Thursday night to open a three-game homestand.
Maple Leafs: At New Jersey on Tuesday night.
Daniel Weinman was crowned winner of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Monday, taking home a record breaking $12.1 million in winnings. Weinman had to outlast the other 10,043 entrants to take home the prize and get his hands on his share of live poker’s largest ever prize pool – a staggering $93,399,900. As well as taking home the prize money, 35-year-old Weinman also got his hands on the WSOP Main Event bracelet. The huge bracelet contains 500 grams of 10-karat yellow gold, as well as 2,352 various precious gemstones.
Daniel Weinman won the World Series of Poker's main event world championship on Monday in Las Vegas, earning $12.1 million along the way. Playing in the tournament for a 16th year, Weinman was tops in a deep pool of 10,043 players vying for $93.39 million. His victory came after just 164 hands at the final table. "I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament," the 35-year-old Atlanta native told reporters afterward. Weinman's final table featured Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who landed in fourth place and took home $3 million, as well as Toby Lewis, who finished seventh and secured $1.42 million. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the main event's entry pool far outpaced the previous record of 8,773 set in 2006. "I've always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction, but to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible," Weinman said. "And to win this main event, it doesn't feel real. I mean, [there's] so much luck in a poker tournament. I thought I played very well." Steven Jones finished second, securing $6.5 million. And Adam Walton settled for third and a $4 million prize.
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