Maple Leafs report cards: John Tavares seals comeback OT win

Tonight's game was brought to you by goal reviews and what felt like hundreds of them. Even though the Toronto Maple Leafs were not the better team overall, they found a way to win and got a flurry of executed plays to get them through it.

Taylor Raddysh opened the scoring for the Washington Capitals with his Hail Mary puck throw toward the net bounced off Max Domi 's skate and in. Bobby McMann tied the game nearly a minute later, while a series of lost puck battles led to Dylan Strome regaining the lead for the Capitals. Despite being only down 2-1, the ice was tilting in the Capital's favour. Washington had 27 shot attempts to Toronto's eight.

The second period didn't change the Leafs' play despite getting some luck on the review board. John Carlson 's slap shot was called back for goaltending interference, while Matthew Knies' double minor was reversed. Unfortunately, the Leafs couldn't bounce back from it and still found themselves down 3-1 via Aliaksei Protas .

The Leafs tried to turn things in their favour once the third period started. Steven Lorentz thought his goal would cue the comeback but it was called back after a review. William Nylander managed to get it back for the Leafs and a late-game penalty gave Mitch Marner the opportunity to tie it at three. It was all Toronto once overtime hit. After a huge save from Joseph Woll on Alexander Ovechkin, John Tavares skated down on Logan Thompson and ended the game.

The fight in the last frame paid off, and Woll kept the Leafs in it. They didn't have as much sustained pressure in the offensive zone as they have in the past this season, but the execution was there when it counted. A win is a win, which is good enough for a B tonight.

Defence pair grades

Morgan Rielly -Jani Hakanpää: B

It's hard to miss a defenseman that big, but mostly positive things made him noticeable. I didn't expect him to have as much offensive presence from Hakanpää as we got. He's comfortable playing lower in the offensive zone, waving his stick for a one-timer, and had a good sequence getting a shot on net off the rush and going for the rebound. His timing was a bit off on one of Washington's shots, but his net-front presence on box-outs was solid for the most part. Rielly really took advantage of the open space he was given on the left side and almost found the back of the net from it.

Jake McCabe – Chris Tanev : B

The third goal against was a tough one to watch. The puck bouncing on McCabe was bad luck, though Tanev was back defending the two-on-one with Protas and Ovechkin. McCabe is trying to take the shot away from Ovechkin while Tanev is moving to the right to do the same thing. However, Ovechkin makes the pass instead and no one is around Protas to stop him.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson- Conor Timmins : B-

The lost puck battles were one thing on Dylan Strome's goal, but the spin around gave him an open lane to walk in on Woll while Timmins was in no-man's land a bit in the middle of the slot. It's a new pair, but it wasn't the best debut.

I did like the individual effort Ekman-Larsson made ahead of the called-off Lorentz goal.

Player grades

Mitch Marner: B+

Good control of the neutral zone to force some turnovers. Marner took off in the third period a bit and had the puck a lot, creating rush and in-zone chances. His first shot of the game was the goal the team needed to send it to overtime.

Marner also had a chance to end it before Tavares did after his steal and one-on-one sequence against Thompson.

Matthew Knies : B+

His individual effort on Nylander's goal was great making Jakob Chychrun pay for all the space he left him.

The deflection goal getting called back stings but his defensive play on Nic Dowd to stop the empty net attempt was crucial, and to make it better, he drew the call seconds later that the team used to tie the game.

John Tavares: B+

Solid one-on-one effort against Nick Jensen to beat him and still get the pass off to McMann. His faceoff win was key to Marner's goal and he was the hero of the night scoring on Thompson in overtime.

Joseph Woll: B+

Woll was a lot more active in his crease than the Leafs needed. He stopped many shots, but the players in front were not the only reason the puck beat him. Woll looked more in control in the third as the Leafs pushed to tie it and stopped an open Ovechkin in the slot.

William Nylander: B

The loose puck tap-in extended his team lead in goals to 12. Nylander also added an assist after finding Marner cross-ice for the one-timer.

Bobby McMann: B

McMann had a few last touches on plays created by his linemates, especially in the third period, as he found another gear in the speed category. His goal tied the game after Washington scored first.

Alex Steeves : C+

A hot start with the Marlies and an emergency call-up allowed Steeves to replace Nick Robertson in the lineup. He was strong in his zone and was first on pucks in the offensive zone, and his first shot of the season forced a good save from Thompson.

Max Domi: C+

Luck still isn't on his side. The game's first goal went off his skate, and he's unable to convert on his chances, including the breakaway in the second. The effort to get back to the defensive zone on the first and third goals stands out a lot more in this stretch, when team defence has been an issue for the Leafs.

Steven Lorentz — Connor Dewar — Ryan Reaves : C+

Dewar got chances from the crease in this game. One he fanned on, but his back-to-back shots helped create chaos for the Lorentz goal that was called off.