DENVER — William Nylander tied a career high with five points and Auston Matthews added four as the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-3 on Saturday night in Denver. Nylander scored twice and delivered a career-high three assists to finish with five points, while Matthews had two goals and two assists as Toronto has alternated wins and losses to start the season and handed Colorado its first loss in three home games.
Nick Blankenburg put Toronto ahead 1-0 just 3:03 into the game before Nathan MacKinnon answered with a bull rush through the Toronto defense to tie it midway through the first and then gave Colorado a 2-1 lead at 15:14 with his second of the night. Nylander tied it 19 seconds after Jaden Schwartz took a high-sticking minor early in the second for the first power-play goal Colorado has allowed this season, and Brock Nelson restored the Avalanche lead off his own rebound later in the period to make it 3-2.
Toronto seized control late in the second with two goals 46 seconds apart. Nylander netted his second at 16:47 to tie it 3-3 and Easton Cowan followed with a one-timer off a pass from Morgan Rielly at 17:33 to give the Maple Leafs a 4-3 lead. Matthews extended the advantage with a power-play goal midway through the third to make it 5-3 and sealed the 6-3 final with an empty-net goal in the final minute.
Mackenzie Blackwood made 16 saves in his first setback of the season as Colorado went 0 for 5 on the power play, including eight seconds of a 5-on-3 early in the second period. Avalanche forward Logan O'Connor was away from the team following the sudden passing of his father, former NHL defenseman Myles O'Connor. Toronto wraps its three-game trip at Utah on Tuesday night, while Colorado visits Dallas on Tuesday.