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TORONTO – Joseph Woll made 40 saves and John Tavares scored the winner as the Toronto Maple Leafs topped the New York Rangers 4-3 on Wednesday night.
Jake McCabe, Nick Robertson and Dakota Joshua had the other goals for Toronto (31-29-13).
Matias Maccelli added two assists. Woll picked up the second assist on Joshua’s goal for his first NHL point.
Mika Zibanejad, with two goals, and Alexis Lafrenière, with a goal and two assists, replied for New York (29-35-9), which was eliminated from playoff contention with the loss. Igor Shesterkin stopped 14 shots. Adam Fox chipped in two assists.
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The disappointing Maple Leafs picked up just their second victory (2-7-3) at Scotiabank Arena since mid-January.
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New York, which will finish below the post-season cutline for a second straight spring, sits second-last in the overall standings. Toronto ranks 21st and is on the way to missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
TAKEAWAYS
Rangers: Adam Sykora made his NHL debut after being called up from the Hartford Wolf Pack. The 21-year-old winger, selected 63rd overall at the 2022 draft, put up 12 goals and 17 assists for 29 points across 62 games in the American Hockey League in 2025-26.
Maple Leafs: William Nylander is one point away from passing his father, Michael, for family bragging rights. The winger has 679 points in 741 regular-season games. The elder Nylander registered 679 points in 920 contests.
KEY MOMENT
Tavares scored his 26th goal of the season at 11:57 of the third period to make it 4-2 when he ripped a shot past Shesterkin after Toronto had built a 3-0 lead in the second.
KEY STAT
New York, which tied a dubious franchise record with just 10 shots in Monday’s 2-1 home loss to the Ottawa Senators, directed 14 attempts on target in Wednesday’s opening period. The visitors also pumped 17 more pucks on Woll in the second.
UP NEXT
Rangers: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday
Maple Leafs: Visit the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
