DENVER (AP) — William Nylander and Easton Cowan scored 46 seconds apart late in the second period and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-3 on Saturday night.
Nylander finished with two goals and had a career-high three assists to finish with five points, also tying a career high. Auston Matthews had two goals and two assists for Toronto, which has alternated wins and losses to start the season.
Nathan MacKinnon scored twice for Colorado, which suffered its first loss in three home games. Brock Nelson also scored and Mackenzie Blackwood had 16 saves in his first setback of the season. The Avs finished 0-for-5 on the power play, which included eight seconds of a 5-on-3 early in the second period.
After Nick Blankenburg gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead 3:03 into the game, MacKinnon’s bull-rush through the Toronto defence tied it midway through the first. He gave Colorado the lead with his second of the night at 15:14.
Nylander tied it 19 seconds after Jaden Schwartz took a high-sticking minor early in the second, the first power-play goal the Avs allowed this season. Nelson scored off his own rebound later in the period to give Colorado a 3-2 lead before the Maple Leafs grabbed control in the second.
Nylander’s second of the night tied it at 16:47 and Cowan scored a one-timer off a pass from Morgan Reilly that gave Toronto the lead at 17:33. Then Matthews made it 5-3 with a power-play goal midway through the third and sealed it when he scored into an empty net in the final minute.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 shots.
Avalanche forward Logan O’Connor was away from the team following the sudden passing of his father, former NHL defenceman Myles O’Connor.
UP NEXT
Maple Leafs: Visit the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday.
Avalanche: Visit the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Michael Kelly, The Associated Press