Maple Leafs' 3-Goal Second Period Leads Stars to 5-3 Victory – Hockey Writers – Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs (20-10-2) scored three goals in the second half and had a tough night from Joseph Woll, beating the Dallas Stars (19-12-0) 5-3 at the American Airlines Center on Wednesday night. William Nylander scored his 19th and 20th goals of the season, while Domi, Robertson, and McMann had other markers for the Maple Leafs.

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The Stars beat “Woll” on Wednesday, when Leafs forward Joseph Woll stopped 38 of 41 shots, keeping his team alive in the first half. Jake Oettinger, celebrating his 26th birthday, had a rough night between the pipes, being pulled after the first 40 minutes, and allowing four goals on 12 shots.

Recap of the game

Both teams played slowly, but it was the Stars who got off to a fast start on Wednesday night. Sam Steel opened the scoring for the Stars, beating Woll stick-side high into the blue paint. Domi tied the score at 1-1 a minute later after making a few minutes of changes.

The second frame started faster than the first, with Dadonov giving the Stars a 2-1 lead 22 seconds into the period, as Woll was hit on the right again. The lead lasted for a while, but Nylander eventually tied the game with his 19th goal of the season, a beautiful top-shelf shot in the crease. Nick Robertson gave the Maple Leafs a 3-2 lead 16 seconds later, and McMann scored at 11:01 to give Toronto a 4-2 halftime lead, ending Jake Oettinger's early night. .

Casey DeSmith started in goal for Dallas and his team responded with a strong push in the third period. They outshot the Maple Leafs 14-7, 39-19 in this game, but the Wall game was too long for Dallas to win. Colin Blackwell cut it to 4-3 at 17:44 with DeSmith pulling in, but John Tavares won a puck battle on the boards and sent Nylander on his way to his second of the night 33 seconds later.

Toronto is 6-0-1 in the last seven games against the Stars. Both teams will have a few days off until they face a few New York teams on Friday. The Maple Leafs will face the Buffalo Sabres, while the Stars will host the Rangers.

Good news on Wednesday

Stars captain Jamie Benn played his 1,143rd career game on Wednesday, while Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reeves played his 900th career game. Stars defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin and Leafs defenseman Chris Tanev, who were signed in the summer, played with their former teams who picked them up at last year's trade deadline. Nick and Jason Robertson had the unique opportunity to play against each other for the fifth time. Nick has two points in the victory.