Rangers 4, Maple Leafs 3
NEW YORK-- Right winger Mats Zuccarello capped a three-point night with a goal with less than a minute left in regulation as the New York Rangers topped the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 on Sunday night in Madison Square Garden.
Defenseman Ryan McDonagh and centers Derek Stepan and Derick Brassard also scored for New York (14-2-2), winners of nine in a row. Goaltender Antti Raanta stopped 23 of 26 shots.
Center Peter Holland, left winger Joffrey Lupul and defenseman Dion Phaneuf scored for Toronto (5-9-4), which had a three game winning streak come to an end. Goaltender Jonathan Bernier made 26 saves.
Zuccarello jammed a rebound through Bernier for the game-winning goal.
The Leafs led 1-0 at the first intermission due to Holland's third goal of the season and Bernier's play in net. In the first period, Bernier was aggressive against New York's shooters, challenging shots and cutting down angles after coming in with a 3.02 goals-against average and .899 save percentage.
Bernier's aggressiveness cost him and the Leafs, though, when New York drew even on McDonagh's goal 44 seconds into the second period. Bernier overplayed Zuccarello coming up the left side, leaving a half-empty net for McDonagh to shoot at to make it 1-1
Nearly 15 minutes later, Bernier allowed a goal that could summarized his tenure with the Leafs. The Toronto netminder allowed Stepan's shot from the red line to slide under his pads and into the net.
It was not the first time during his two-and-a-half seasons with the Leafs Bernier surrendered a goal from center ice. Arizona defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored five seconds into the second period of the Coyotes' 3-1 win over the Leafs on Jan. 30 at the Air Canada Centre.
Maple Leafs left winger Joffrey Lupul evened things at 2 with 2:22 left in the second period, but Brassard's goal 3:37 into the third gave the Rangers a 3-2 advantage. Brassard tapped Zuccarello's feed home for his sixth goal of the season.
Phaneuf equalized just 98 seconds later after Brassard's goal for the Leafs before Zuccarello's ninth of the season sealed it for New York.
NOTES: Toronto scratched D Frank Corrado, D Martin Marincin and RW Brad Boyes, while New York scratched D Dan Boyle and RW Emerson Etem. ... When he met with reporters at his pregame press conference, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault explained his rationale for sitting Boyle. "(It's) our fourth game in six nights," Vigneault said. "I had this conversation with Dan -- I told him (Saturday) night and, obviously, he doesn't like it; he's a competitor, he wants to play. I do think he understands, and I do want to get (D Dylan McIlrath) in, also."