Zach Aston-Reese scored two goals and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the visiting Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 Friday night.
Morgan Rielly added a goal and an assist for Toronto, Mitchell Marner and Auston Matthews also scored and John Tavares and Calle Jarnkrok each had two assists.
Ilya Samsonov stopped 30 shots as the Maple Leafs completed a 2-1-1 homestand. They start a five-game road trip Saturday against the Ottawa Senators.
Brady Skjei and Martin Necas scored for Carolina in the opener of a three-game road trip.
Pyotr Kochetkov made 19 saves for the Hurricanes, who have lost three of their past four games.
Toronto led 3-1 after the first period.
Aston-Reese tipped Erik Gustafsson’s shot at 2:54 to open the scoring.
Marner scored his 25th of the season at 12:30 with a shot from the right circle on a nifty rush from the neutral zone.
Skjei answered with his 14th of the season at 14:57 when his shot from the left circle squirted past Samsonov.
Matthews deflected a shot by Tavares for his 32nd goal on a power play at 17:38. Jordan Staal was off for boarding.
Each team had 11 shots on goal in the first.
Necas scored his 26th goal of the season at 10:45 of the second period with a 30-foot wrist shot from the right circle. Teuvo Teravainen made the pass.
Aston-Reese scored his seventh goal of the season at 14:59 of the second to restore Toronto’s two-goal margin. He converted a pass from Sam Lafferty to complete a two-on-one rush that followed a Carolina turnover.
Carolina had a 23-19 advantage in shots on goal after the second period.
Rielly scored his fourth goal of the season at 8:56 of the third period on a 23-foot wrist shot.
Toronto forward Noel Acciari (upper-body injury) left the game and did not return after a first-period collision with Jesse Puljujarvi.
The Maple Leafs wore white and green uniforms to commemorate St. Patrick’s Day.
With defenseman Luke Schenn in the lineup for Toronto, defenseman Justin Holl was a healthy scratch.
–Field Level Media
