Maple Leafs climb out of 3-0 hole to beat Predators 5-4 in overtime

Nashville had the jump, but the lead never settled

The opening belonged to Nashville. Steven Stamkos started the scoring at 7:13 of the first period, and Nils Hoglander doubled the margin less than two minutes later. When Hoglander struck again at 3:03 of the second, Toronto was staring at a 3-0 deficit before the game had even reached its middle stretch.

That could have been the point where the night drifted away. Instead, Toronto answered almost immediately. John Tavares put the Maple Leafs on the board at 4:56 with Gavin McKenna and Anthony Stolarz drawing the assists, and William Nylander cut the gap to 3-2 just 2:02 later off feeds from Auston Matthews and Kirill Marchenko.

Nashville still had another punch left in the period. Stamkos scored his second goal at 13:30 to restore a two-goal cushion at 4-2, but even that did not hold. McKenna replied only 1:01 later, finishing a sequence created by Matthews and Jack Roslovic, and Toronto went to the intermission down just one after a second period that produced five goals in 11 minutes and completely changed the feel of the game.

Matthews drove the rally and Toronto kept finding support

The equalizer arrived in the third. Roslovic scored at 8:54, with Matthews collecting his third assist of the night and Nylander adding another helper, to tie the game 4-4. Toronto then completed the comeback in overtime, turning a game that had looked lost early into a 5-4 win.

Matthews did not score, but he was at the centre of nearly every important Toronto push. His three assists gave structure to the comeback, while Nylander finished with a goal and an assist, Roslovic posted a goal and an assist, and McKenna delivered one of each as well. Tavares added a goal of his own and was dominant in the faceoff circle, winning 16 of 17 draws.

Those details matter because they show this was more than a single-star rescue. Toronto outshot Nashville 35-25 and owned the dots with a 65.4 per cent faceoff edge. The Maple Leafs also went 1-for-3 on the power play. Nashville was dangerous enough to score four times and converted its lone power-play chance, but the Predators spent too much of the night trying to hold back a response instead of extending their control.

Our take

Our take: Toronto earned praise for its resilience, but this was not a tidy win. A team that gives up four goals on 25 shots has left itself very little margin, and the Maple Leafs needed a full comeback from 3-0 down to survive. The offensive push was real; the defensive standard still looks unfinished.

What Toronto can carry forward is the variety in its attack. Matthews drove play on the scoresheet, but the comeback also needed Tavares to break the shutout, Nylander to keep the pressure on, McKenna to answer Stamkos in the same period, and Roslovic to erase the final regulation deficit. Add the overwhelming faceoff advantage, and there were enough repeatable strengths here to explain how the game flipped.

For Nashville, this is the sort of loss that will sting because the best work was good enough to win on most nights. Stamkos scored twice, Hoglander scored twice, Filip Forsberg supplied two assists, and the Predators got the fast start every road team wants. But a 20-giveaway night and a heavy deficit in the faceoff circle left too many extra touches for Toronto. When a team gives away that many second chances after building a 3-0 lead, closing time becomes much harder than it should be.

Scoring moments

1. 1st · 7:13

   Steven Stamkos Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: Matthew Wood (1), Roman Josi (2)

2. 1st · 9:08

   Nils Hoglander Goal (2) Backhand, assists: Adam Wilsby (1), Filip Forsberg (2)

3. 2nd · 3:03

   Nils Hoglander Goal (3) Backhand, assists: Filip Forsberg (3), Mavrik Bourque (1)

4. 2nd · 4:56

   John Tavares Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Gavin McKenna (1), Anthony Stolarz (1)

5. 2nd · 6:58

   William Nylander Goal (3) Wrist Shot, assists: Auston Matthews (1), Kirill Marchenko (2)

6. 2nd · 13:30

   Steven Stamkos Goal (3) Wrist Shot, assists: Ryan O'Reilly (2), Brady Skjei (1)

7. 2nd · 14:31

   Gavin McKenna Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Auston Matthews (2), Jack Roslovic (2)

8. 3rd · 8:54

   Jack Roslovic Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Auston Matthews (3), William Nylander (2)