Maple Leafs 5, Flames 2
TORONTO -- William Nylander's first career three-point game helped the Toronto Maple Leafs post a 5-2 win over the Calgary Flames at Air Canada Centre on Monday night.
Nylander scored the eventual winner 29 seconds into the third period, one-timing a Jake Gardiner feed top corner on Jonas Hiller for his fourth of the season. The 19-year-old rookie has five points in his last two games.
P.A. Parenteau, Zach Hyman, Colin Greening and Josh Leivo had the other goals for the Leafs (26-35-11).
Jonathan Bernier made 23 saves to improve to 5-1-0 in six career games against the Flames.
Toronto won for the fourth time in five games and earned at least a point for the sixth time in eight.
Calgary (31-36-6) got goals from Matt Stajan and Joe Colborne -- two players who previously spent time in the Maple Leafs organization. Hiller stopped 21 shots in the loss.
The loss is a blow to the Flames' bleak playoff hopes. Calgary remains 12 points back of the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild card in the Western Conference with nine games remaining.
Parenteau opened the scoring, one-timing a Nylander feed past Hiller for his 18th of the season at 11:27 of the first.
Stajan got Calgary on the board, short-handed, midway through the second when his shot beat Bernier short side for his sixth of the season.
Hyman restored Toronto's one-goal lead at 14:26 of the second, redirecting Nylander's shot past Hiller for his fourth of the season.
Things got heated between the two clubs with 5:06 remaining in the second.
After Nazem Kadri hit Johnny Gaudreau shoulder-to-shoulder behind the Leafs net, both Gaudreau and Josh Jooris responded with slashes to the back of Kadri's leg.
With Kadri on the ice, Jooris attempted to drop the gloves with the Leafs center.
Both Gaudreau and Jooris were penalized while Kadri received a minor penalty for embellishment.
The Flames tied it 2-2 at 17:32 of the middle period as Mark Giordano's shot redirected off Colborne and past Bernier for his 16th of the season.
Greening and Leivo added an empty-netters in the final minute and a half of the third.
NOTES: Toronto RW Nikita Soshnikov missed his first game with a lower-body injury. ... Leafs C Peter Holland (upper body) missed his second game, and C Leo Komarov (lower body) missed his third game. ... Toronto C Brooks Laich returned Monday after missing Saturday's game against the Buffalo Sabres due to personal reasons. ... G Joni Ortio served as the Flames backup on Monday night. Niklas Backstrom, who picked up the win in Montreal on Sunday, was a scratch as Calgary currently has three goaltenders on its active roster. ... Calgary concludes its three-game road trip Thursday in Minnesota. ... The Maple Leafs continue their four-game homestand Thursday when they play host to the Anaheim Ducks.