Maple Leafs edge Avalanche in overtime to extend streak

William Nylander scored at 3:59 of overtime to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a 4-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on January 12, 2026. The win extended Toronto's point streak to 10 games and snapped Colorado's 17-game home winning streak. Auston Matthews recorded a goal and an assist in the tightly contested matchup.

The Toronto Maple Leafs (23-15-7) improved to 8-0-2 over their last 10 games with the overtime triumph, marking their fourth straight win. Joseph Woll made 31 saves in net for Toronto, while Trent Miner stopped 28 shots for Colorado (33-4-8), who fell to 2-2-1 in their past five games.

The game began with Easton Cowan putting Toronto ahead 1-0 at 11:15 of the first period. His backdoor pass intended for Bobby McMann deflected off Colorado defenseman Brent Burns' skate and into the net. Cale Makar tied it 1-1 at 16:12 on a cross-ice pass from Martin Necas, roofing a shot over Woll's shoulder. Brock Nelson then gave Colorado a 2-1 lead at 17:53 on the power play, one-timing Nathan MacKinnon's feed from the high slot.

In the second period, McMann equalized at 2-2 with a breakaway goal at 2:12, capitalizing on a loose puck between defensemen Samuel Girard and Ilya Solovyov. The third period saw Matthews restore Toronto's lead to 3-2 at 10:24 during 4-on-4 play, toe-dragging past Josh Manson and wiring a shot top shelf. Necas responded at 12:55, tapping in MacKinnon's centering pass to make it 3-3.

Nylander sealed the win in overtime, taking a pass from Oliver Ekman-Larsson on a 2-on-1 rush and beating Miner five-hole. "It's a big win. Great team game," Nylander said. Toronto coach Craig Berube praised the effort: "Our guys rose up to the occasion and did a good job."

Colorado coach Jared Bednar noted, "You got to play a full 60 if you want to win. So, we weren't quite there tonight." The loss ended Colorado's home dominance, where they were 19-0-3 this season. Toronto forward Nicholas Robertson left early after blocking a shot in the knee.

In notes, Nylander notched his 50th career game-winning goal, tying Ron Ellis for fifth in Maple Leafs history, and tied Daniel Sedin for most overtime goals by a Swedish player (16). MacKinnon earned his 313th multipoint game, tying Peter Stastny for second in Avalanche/Nordiques history.

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