William Nylander had a goal and two assists and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the visiting Arizona Coyotes 4-2 Thursday night.
Matthew Knies added a goal and an assist and Tyler Bertuzzi and Auston Matthews also scored for the Maple Leafs, who have won eight of nine.
Joseph Woll, making his first start since suffering a sprained ankle on Dec. 7, made 30 saves in Sheldon Keefe’s 200th win as Toronto coach.
Alex Kerfoot, a former Maple Leaf, and Logan Cooley scored for the Coyotes, who are 0-12-2 in their past 14 games. Connor Ingram stopped 22 shots.
Toronto defenseman Mark Giordano was helped off the ice in the first period when he lost his balance driving to the net and crashed into the end boards. Ingram made a good save on the play. Giordano did not return.
Knies scored his 11th goal of the season at 13:04 of the first, set up by Mitchell Marner’s pass on a two-on-one break.
Bertuzzi scored his 12th goal of the season at 1:05 of the second period. He tipped a shot from William Lagesson and the puck slipped through the five-hole. Bertuzzi has five goals in the past three games.
Matthews scored his league-leading 53rd goal of the season at 13:12 of the second on Nylander’s pass into the slot. Knies started the odd-man rush with a steal near the Toronto blue line.
Kerfoot scored his 10th of the season at 14:39 of the second, a short-handed effort on a breakaway.
Cooley scored his ninth of the season at 9:52 of the third period, knocking in a loose puck after a shot hit the goal post.
Nylander scored his 32nd goal into an empty net with one minute to play.
The Coyotes entered the game having earned at least a point in each of their previous 12 games in Toronto. They had not lost in regulation at Toronto since Oct. 17, 2002.
Keefe was fined $25,000 by the league for his game misconduct on Tuesday with two minutes left in a 6-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
–Field Level Media