Maple Leafs’ fourth line overpowering in last-minute victory over visiting Rangers

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Thursday was a night of firsts for the Maple Leafs’ fourth line.

With top gun Auston Matthews foiled by New York goaltender Dylan Garand, a combined seven-point night from Teddy Blueger, Brandon Duhaime and Zack MacEwen was welcome in a 5-4 win.

Toronto’s first three-game winning streak since February sends them on a four-game western road trip, beginning Saturday in Edmonton, under full sail, while Sergei Bobrovsky tied Rangers great Henrik Lundqvist for sixth in career NHL wins with his 459th.

Defenceman Troy Stecher answered Alexis Lafreniere’s tying goal with 27.5 seconds to play on a delayed Rangers penalty.

Leafs score on 1st shot

There’s no arguing the value of a first-shot goal, generated by a couple of aggressive shifts by Toronto defenceman Jake McCabe spotting Easton Cowan open in the Rangers slot during a line change. Cowan didn’t miss, now with goals in consecutive games and 11 points in a pack behind San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini for most by an NHLer aged 21 or younger.

But Cowan was a step behind Mika Zibanejad as he got in Bobrovsky’s way to tip a Vladislav Gavrikov point shot. The Leafs got that back before the period ended on some feistiness by the all-new fourth line, a rush by MacEwen and followed up by Duhaime and Blueger, the latter deflecting it in five-hole.

In the 12th game for Blueger and Duhaime, it was their first Leaf points, same for MacEwen in his sixth appearance with MacEwen almost beating Garand a second time using his wheels to get by the Rangers defence.

New York’s fourth line applied speed and pressure of its own to yield the goals, Oliver Bjorkstrand trailing the play to knock in a Justin Dowling rebound after he got a step on Nick Blankenburg. Tye Kartye then scored through a muddled screen of Leafs players.

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Western road trip awaits

After a protracted defensive zone faceoff argument with the officials, Blueger won the draw and sprang his linemates, Duhaime netting his own rebound. That’s how Kirill Marchenko beat Garand as well on the game’s first power play as the second period ended. Right before that, Garand had made the second of two front-porch stops on Matthews and forced a breaking William Nylander to shoot high.

The Leafs’ top-ranked penalty kill erased a Jack Roslovic minor in the third, allowing just one shot, supporting Bobrovsky’s 21 saves.

Blankenburg replaced Marshall Rifai on defence after the latter departed Thursday’s morning skate with difficulty due to an injury likely suffered Tuesday in Columbus, when he also recorded his first goal in the NHL.

The western swing begins with a doozy in Edmonton versus Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Oilers, who are now coached by Mike Babcock. He fell out of favour with the Matthews-led Leafs seven years ago.

Lhornby@postmedia.com

X: @sunhornby

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