Nylander strikes early in OT as Leafs outlast Penguins

PITTSBURGH (AP) — William Nylander scored 1:00 into overtime, and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-5 on Sunday.

Nylander, Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies each had a goal and an assist as Toronto earned its fifth consecutive win. John Tavares, Max Domi and Conor Timmins also scored.

It was Nylander's 35th goal of the season and No. 252 for his career, passing Bob Pulford for 10th on the franchise list. Matthews continued his nine-game point streak with his 390th goal, passing Darryl Sittler for second on the franchise list, trailing only Mats Sundin.

Mitch Marner had an assist to pass George Armstrong for fifth on the franchise points list. Marner has 714 career points.

Crosby had a goal and two assists for the Penguins. He passed Bobby Hull for 18th on the NHL’s career goals list and Gordie Howe for 10th on the league's assists list. Crosby has 611 goals and 1,050 assists.

Rickard Rakell scored twice for Pittsburgh, including his 500th NHL point. Bryan Rust and Cody Glass also scored, and Joel Blomqvist stopped 27 shots.

Takeaways

Maple Leafs: Winners of eight of nine overall, the Maple Leafs scored at least three goals in each of their wins during their torrid stretch.

Penguins: The Penguins have lost six of their last seven games, including a home game against Boston on Saturday.

Key moment

Nylander entered the zone in overtime and scored on a wrist shot from between the circles.

Key stat

The Maple Leafs improved to 27-0-0 this season when leading after two periods.

Up next

Toronto hosts San Jose on Monday, and Pittsburgh visits Colorado on Tuesday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl