Matthew Knies breaks 3rd-period tie in the Maple Leafs' 3-2 victory over the Rangers

NEW YORK -- — Matthew Knies broke a third-period tie, Anthony Stolarz made 33 saves and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Rangers 3-2 on Friday night.

Knies scored his 22nd goal at 6:21 of the third, less than three minutes after Will Cuylle tied it for New York with a short-handed goal.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson and William Nylander also scored to help Toronto win its fourth straight game since the 4 Nations Face-off break.

Mika Zibanejad also scored for the Rangers. They had won two in a row.

Ekman-Larsson opened the scoring on a power play 1:47 into the contest. Zibanejad tied it with 6:52 left in the period, deflecting a pass from defenseman Will Borgen.

Nylander scored 51 seconds into the second, jamming a loose puck past goalie Igor Shesterkin for his team-leading 34th goal.

Cuylle tiedit at 3:47 of the third with the short-handed score.

Takeaways

Maple Leafs: Toronto moved a point ahead of idle Florida for the Atlantic Division lead.

Rangers: New York remained four points behind Ottawa and Detroit, current holders of wild-card playoffs spots.

Key moment

Stolarz made a dazzling glove save just after Rangers tied it at 2. Knies scored the winning goal shortly thereafter.

Key stat

Stolarz improved to 13-5-2 in a backup role to starter Joseph Woll.

Up next

The Maple Leafs are at Pittsburgh on Sunday. The Rangers host Nashville on Sunday night.

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