NHL

Carolina Hurricanes at Toronto Maple Leafs

· National Hockey League
Carolina Hurricanes
44-19-6
Final
4 - 3
Toronto Maple Leafs
29-28-13

Nikishin scores in OT to lift the East-leading Hurricanes past the Maple Leafs, 4-3

Carolina Hurricanes vs. Toronto Maple Leafs: Game Highlights

Nikishin fired a shot beyond goalie Joseph Woll’s blocker.

Eric Robinson scored on a penalty shot for Carolina, K’Andre Miller and Jordan Staal also had goals, and Brandon Bussi made 23 saves. Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho each had two assists.

John Tavares, William Nylander and Dakota Joshua scored for Toronto. Woll stopped 32 shots, and Matias Maccelli had two assists.

Robinson scored on the penalty shot in the second period after being hooked on a breakaway by defenseman Troy Stecher. The Carolina winger beat Woll to the glove side.

Aho became the third player to hit at least 70 points in five seasons with the Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers franchise. Ron Francis (11) and Eric Staal (seven) top the list.

Toronto captain Auston Matthews had surgery on his left MCL in New York on Thursday. He was injured last week on a knee-on-knee hit from Anaheim defenseman Radko Gudas.

Up next Hurricanes: At Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Maple Leafs: At Ottawa on Saturday night.

Regular Season Series

CAR wins series 2-1

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 11:48 Dakota Joshua Goal (9) Wrist Shot, assists: Bo Groulx (2), Matias Maccelli (20)
Goal 2nd Period 5:57 Jordan Staal Goal (17) Tip-In, assists: Seth Jarvis (27), Sebastian Aho (46)
Goal 2nd Period 12:35 Eric Robinson Goal (12) Wrist Shot, assists: none
Goal 2nd Period 13:47 John Tavares Goal (24) Wrist Shot, assists: Calle Jarnkrok (2), Jake McCabe (18)
Goal 2nd Period 17:40 K'Andre Miller Goal (6) Backhand, assists: none
Goal 3rd Period 13:50 William Nylander Goal (24) Wrist Shot, assists: Matias Maccelli (21)
Goal 4th Period 0:41 Alexander Nikishin Goal (10) Wrist Shot, assists: Seth Jarvis (28), Sebastian Aho (47)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/car.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCAR https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/tor.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTOR
11 Blocked Shots 21
20 Hits 21
5 Takeaways 5
36 Shots 26
1 Power Play Goals 0
5 Power Play Opportunities 2
20.0 Power Play Percentage 0.0
1 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
25 Faceoffs Won 27
48.1 Faceoff Win Percent 51.9
10 Giveaways 14
2 Total Penalties 4
4 Penalty Minutes 10
Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Maple Leafs Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Morgan Rielly, D Out Mar 21
Auston Matthews, C Out Mar 19
Chris Tanev, D Injured Reserve Mar 4
Carolina Hurricanes Carolina Hurricanes Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Shayne Gostisbehere, D Day-To-Day Mar 21
Pyotr Kochetkov, G Injured Reserve Mar 6

Game Information

Scotiabank Arena

Location: Toronto, ON
Attendance: 18,329 | Capacity:

2025-26 Metropolitan Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Carolina 44 19 94 6
Pittsburgh 35 18 86 16
Columbus 36 21 83 11
NY Islanders 39 25 83 5
Philadelphia 34 23 80 12
Washington 35 27 78 8
New Jersey 35 32 72 2
NY Rangers 28 33 64 8

2025-26 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Buffalo 44 20 94 6
Tampa Bay 42 21 88 4
Montreal 37 21 84 10
Boston 38 23 84 8
Detroit 38 23 84 8
Ottawa 35 24 79 9
Florida 34 32 71 3
Toronto 29 28 71 13
Full Standings