Nylander has 3 points, Maple Leafs cruise past Lightning

William Nylander had two goals and an assist for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 5-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Scotiabank Arena on Monday.

“I think we came out pretty good,” Nylander said. “Tampa came back a little bit in the first period, but then I think we played quick and got odd-man rushes the other way so it opened the game up. (We had) a great [penalty kill] and an unbelievable game by (Anthony) Stolarz making some huge saves as well to keep the lead.”

Auston Matthews scored to extend his goal streak to three games, and Mitch Marner had two assists for the Maple Leafs (4-2-0), who have won four of their past five. Stolarz made 32 saves in his fourth straight start.

“Just confidence and having that routine day in and day out,” Stolarz said. “(I’m) working with (goalie coach) Curtis Sanford on a lot of things on our practice days, getting my rest, taking care of my body, and I’m just trying to make sure I make the most of this opportunity.”

Nicholas Paul and Brayden Point scored for the Lightning (3-2-0), who have lost two straight. Andrei Vasilevskiy was pulled midway through the second period after allowing four goals on 14 shots. Jonas Johansson made 14 saves in relief.

“It looked like one of those nights,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. “I think I can count on one hand how many times I’ve pulled him in our careers together. ‘JJ’ hadn’t played all year, and to me it was time to get him in and give our guy a rest.”

Nylander gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead at 3:57 of the first period, burying a one-timer from the left hash marks off a pass from Max Domi.

Paul tied it 1-1 at 15:57. His shot on a breakaway was stopped by Stolarz, but the rebound was knocked in by Simon Benoit, who also slid into the net after trying to chase down Paul.

“You don’t even think about it,” Stolarz said. “Part of the game, it’s going to happen. Benoit is just trying to make an effort there and it’s just one of those things where [bad stuff] happens. It is what it is. As a goalie, you just forget about it and worry about the next shot.”

Matthews put the Maple Leafs back in front 2-1 with a power-play goal at 1:56 of the second period. He jammed in a rebound in the crease after Marner’s initial shot dropped between Vasilevskiy’s pads.

Nylander made it 3-1 at 7:33 when he elected to shoot on a 2-on-1 and beat Vasilevskiy five-hole.

Max Pacioretty, who had been a healthy scratch the previous two games, extended the lead to 4-1 at 9:31 with a one-timer short side from above the left circle.

“Every time we made an error they took advantage of it,” Cooper said. “It was just one of those nights. I look at Pacioretty’s goal and I think that’s kind of how the night went for us. It happens when you play 82. It’s just too bad that it happened in game five.”

The Lightning had a 5-on-3 power play for two minutes beginning at 10:02, but they were unable to score despite generating seven shots on goal. Stolarz’s best save during the penalty kill came at 11:25, when he sprawled to clear a shot from Jake Guentzel off the goal line with his glove.

“That might be one of the nicest saves of the year maybe, I don’t know,” Nylander said. “That was insane today. He’s been just so solid for us back there.”

Matthew Knies then pushed it to 5-1 at 14:02 of the second, shooting five-hole on a breakaway after two Lightning players collided in the neutral zone.

“I saw that it was kind of open and I had some time with it,” Knies said. “I looked back to see if anyone was with me but I was quite alone. I’ve tried that move once or twice before, so fortunately it worked out for me.”

Nylander was impressed with the move.

“That was a crazy wrist shot from like 5 feet from the goalie but he powered through,” Nylander said. “I loved it.”

Point cut it to 5-2 at 14:53 of the third period, scoring a power-play goal from the slot off a pass from Nikita Kucherov, who faked a one-timer before making the play.

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