Auston Matthews walked it off for the Toronto Maple Leafs, emerging as the overtime hero in a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers.

Matthews converted a feed from William Nylander off the rush for his fourth goal of the season, as the Maple Leafs improved to 3-2-0. Nylander recorded primary assists on both of Toronto’s goals, setting up Matthew Knies in the first period. Juuso Parsinnen scored for New York in the third period, forcing overtime. Igor Shesterkin made 22 saves for the Rangers during a true goaltending duel.

All of this perhaps buries the lede, as Anthony Stolarz submitted a dominant performance for the Maple Leafs. Stolarz made 28 saves, constantly thwarting New York’s attack and is the primary reason why Toronto won on Tuesday.

Stolarz was the primary reason why the Maple Leafs emerged with the victory over the Rangers and made several outstanding stops. Toronto’s starting goaltender was dialled in from the outset, robbing Alexis Lafreniere during a first-period power play.

Will Cuylle will likely have nightmares about Stolarz as well, stymied several times, and had a surefire goal in the first period, only for the sprawling Maple Leafs’ goalie to flick the puck away. Stolarz would blank Cuylle once again, early in the second period, and appeared to be impenetrable throughout the evening. He made another tremendous save on Sam Carrick in the second frame and preserved a narrow lead for the Maple Leafs.

Juuso Parsinnen eventually solved Stolarz on a deflection, where it could be argued that Toronto’s goaltender was interfered with by Rangers forward Taylor Raddysh.

Stolarz also had plenty of reason to complain after making a save while his mask was off, before the referees belatedly called the play dead.

“The goalie loses his mask, he’s in a really vulnerable position. In my opinion? Blow it down,” Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said post-game.

“It’s a dangerous play and there’s gotta be some way we can fix it. I’m not intentionally getting my mask unbuckled,” Stolarz added post-game.

It was a tremendous start from Stolarz, and while Nylander and Matthews were dynamic in the winning effort, the Maple Leafs likely aren’t in the win column without a heroic performance from their No. 1 goalie.

“It was a good goalie duel,” Stolarz said post-game, with a nod to the Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin. “I like the way that we stuck with our game and stayed patient. Didn’t try to try to open it up too much. I thought, you know, we kind of started getting pucks in and kind of wearing them out. I think that’s what we’re gonna have to do for the rest of the season here.”

Stolarz was the recipient of the team belt, awarded to the Maple Leafs’ best or most impactful player in a winning effort. In this case, it was an obvious selection.

William Nylander delivered an emphatic response during Tuesday’s win against the Nashville Predators and followed it up with two primary assists on Thursday. Nylander’s dynamic playmaking was evident throughout the game, he was completely engaged in the offensive zone, and made a concerted effort to get pucks to the net in all situations.

Matthew Knies registered Toronto’s first power play goal of the season and it was in large part due to Nylander. Nylander received a pass from Oliver Ekman-Larsson, surveyed the zone, and fired a shot-pass over to Knies at the back post, who made no mistake. The threat of Nylander’s shot created a gravity effect for his linemates. And while many were quick to call out Nylander for a slow start, he has two goals and nine points in four games, tied for the NHL scoring lead at the time of this filing.

Nylander was at the end of his shift and briefly called for a line change, before a 2-on-1 with Matthews emerged in overtime. Toronto’s star winger cut through the middle of the ice, before patiently finding Matthews for a tap-in. It was a dynamic performance from Nylander. At the very least, his ability to deliver splash plays for a Maple Leafs’ offence still trying to find its ideal groove elevated the team to a clutch 2-1 win.

Jake McCabe and Chris Tanev do all the small things well for the Maple Leafs, which is partly why they’re such an effective shutdown duo. McCabe and Tanev submitted their best game of the season against the Rangers, facilitating easy exits, and keeping the Artemi Panarin-Mika Zibanejad-Alexis Lafrieniere line in check. McCabe has been rewarded for his increased offensive activity through the first five games, but both players were in lockstep with each other, providing some quality minutes during a game where offence was at a premium.

Gord Miller called it ‘a thoroughly modern night’ on the TSN broadcast, and we tend to agree. While the Maple Leafs emerged with a 2-1 victory over the Rangers in an early battle between two Original Six clubs, the Toronto Blue Jays continue to have the nation standing at attention. Andres Gimenez delivered a two-run home run against the Seattle Mariners in the third inning, and the Scotiabank Arena crowd erupted.

Blue Jays mania took over opening night, where the Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens. As the Blue Jays looked to rally back against the Seattle Mariners in Game 4 of the ALCS, it’s a gentle reminder that nothing trumps playoff success in this championship-starved city.

Love baseball? Don’t miss The 6ix Inning Stretch — the brand new podcast from The Nation Network, presented by Betway. Hosted by Toronto sports reporter Lindsay Dunn and 3-time MLB All-Star Whit Merrifield, this weekly show delivers insider stories, unfiltered Jays talk, player interviews, and expert analysis from around the majors. New episodes drop every Wednesday — listen on your favourite podcast platform or watch on the Bluejaysnation YouTube channel.