Alex Steeves scored his first NHL goal as the Toronto Maple Leafs jumped on the Carolina Hurricanes early and held on late for a 6-3 victory Saturday.
Pontus Holmberg scored twice and added an assist for the Leafs (34-20-8), while John Tavares added a goal and an assist. David Kampf also scored in the first period.
Auston Matthews and Holmberg potted empty-net goals after Carolina made it 4-3 in the third. Steeves, who leads the American Hockey League with 29 goals, added an assist for a two-point night. Anthony Stolarz made 31 saves. William Nylander added two assists.
Shayne Gostisbehere and Andrei Svechnikov, with a goal and an assist each, and Jaccob Slavin replied for the Hurricanes (33-20-4). Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 17 shots.
Toronto dressed star forwards Matthews (U.S.), Nylander (Sweden) and Mitch Marner (Canada) in the teams' first game back after the 4 Nations Face-Off. Carolina's Seth Jarvis (Canada) and Slavin (U.S.) also suited up.
Steeves got things started in the first in his 12th NHL game and Holmberg got credited with Toronto's second when Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal accidentally put the puck in his own net.
Kampf then finished off a slick feed from Steven Lorentz before Tavares took a nice pass from Nylander.
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TAKEAWAYS
Leafs: Pockets of the Scotiabank Arena crowd booed "The Star-Spangled Banner" before the game, continuing a trend across Canada of jeering the American anthem in response to President Donald Trump's tariff threats and musings his country's northern neighbour should become its "51st state."
Hurricanes: Saturday marked exactly five years since the club was forced to use emergency backup goaltender David Ayres against Toronto when both their netminders went down injured. The 42-year-old Zamboni driver finished with eight saves in a stunning 6-3 victory.
KEY MOMENT
The Hurricanes finally started to push after Kampf's 3-0 goal, but Stolarz was there to make a string of big saves. Nylander then set up Tavares moments later to stretch the home side's lead to four.
KEY STAT
Brent Burns skated in his 900th consecutive game dating back to Nov. 21, 2013. The Carolina defenceman is the sixth player in NHL history to accomplish the feat.
UP NEXT
Leafs: Open a four-game road trip Sunday against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Hurricanes: Visit the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2025.
