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Nylander’s Overtime Goal Lifts Maple Leafs Past Penguins

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Jeremy Schouppe | Last updated Mar 2, 2025 4:48 PM ET

We saw the Toronto Maple Leafs play a rare Sunday afternoon game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins were playing the second half of a back-to-back after losing to the Boston Bruins on Saturday.

Game Recap

The game started with goalie Joel Blomqvist making a save on the first shot, something the Penguins’ goalies have not done in three straight games. However, the Maple Leafs would open the scoring on their fourth shot of the game when Max Domi whacked a rebound into the Penguins’ net.

It would not take long for the Maple Leafs to extend their lead to two, with Conor Timmins scoring their second goal four minutes into the period on a perfectly placed shot to the top right corner. Thirty seconds after the mid-way point of the first frame, the Penguins got on the board after Blake Lizotte found Ryan Shea for a one-timer, which beat Joseph Woll. They would then tie the game a minute later on a goal from Rickard Rakell, recording his 500th career point.

Rickard Rakell gets his 500th NHL point as Pittsburgh ties the game! pic.twitter.com/e1dCEFb6kR
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 2, 2025

The Penguins then added their third straight unanswered goal on a power play goal from Sidney Crosby on a shot Woll should have saved. It was an eventful first period that finished 3-2. After some early pressure from the Penguins in the second, Auston Matthews tied the game for the Maple Leafs, his first time scoring on a goaltender in more than 10 games if you include the 4 Nations Face-Off. This goal moved Matthews into second in goals in Maple Leafs franchise history.

The Penguins then regained the 4-3 lead with four minutes to play in the second period on a defensive breakdown by the Maple Leafs, which let Bryan Rust in alone on Woll. With an assist on the goal, Crosby took sole possession of 10th on the all-time assist list. The Maple Leafs completely flipped the script in the last minute of the second period, with John Tavares scoring with 55 seconds left and Matthew Knies scoring a buzzer-beater with 0.9 seconds left on the clock to take a 5-4 lead going into the final frame.

MATTHEW KNIES BUZZER BEATER GOAL!

HE SCORES WITH 0.1 LEFT ON THE CLOCK AND THE LEAFS WILL START THE THIRD WITH A ONE-GOAL LEAD!

: @NHL_on_TNT & @SportsonMax https://t.co/4TuyIATi3T pic.twitter.com/PCFYz0RKcV
— NHL (@NHL) March 2, 2025

Ten seconds into the third period, the Penguins tied the game when Rakell found himself alone against Woll for his second of the game. The goalies finally made some saves and held the rest of the third period scoreless. This game needed overtime to be decided, where William Nylander scored his 35th goal of the season to give the Maple Leafs a 6-5 win in a game where defence and goaltending seemed optional.