National Hockey League
Toronto 4, Minnesota 1
When: 6:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Where: Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Referees: Francis Charron, Jean Hebert
Linesmen: Brandon Gawryletz, Bevan Mills
Attendance: 18164

Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares each had a goal and an assist, and Frederik Andersen stopped 26 of 27 shots to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night in Saint Paul, Minn.

Alexander Kerfoot also scored a goal for Toronto, which extended its point streak to eight games (7-0-1). Nylander extended his goal streak to four games.

The Maple Leafs, who won for just the fourth time in the past 13 meetings against the Wild, also improved to 13-4-1 under head coach Sheldon Keefe, who replaced Mike Babcock on Nov. 20.

Ryan Suter scored for Minnesota (10-4-3 at home), and Devan Dubnyk finished with 25 saves.

Toronto took a 1-0 lead at the 5:55 mark of the first period when Kerfoot one-timed a Tavares feed from the edge of the left circle for his seventh goal of the season. It also was Kerfoot's 100th career point.

Nylander made it 2-0 just before the end of the period, picking up a rebound of a Matthews shot near the crease and flipping it past Dubnyk for his 17th goal of the season.

Matthews extended Toronto's lead to 3-0 midway through the second period with a power-play goal. He roofed a cross-ice pass from Nylander from the bottom of the right circle for his 27th goal of the season.

Suter put Minnesota on the board a little over three minutes later with a power-play goal, firing a shot from the left point past a screen by Mikko Koivu and Andersen's blocker side for his sixth goal of the season.

The Wild pulled Dubnyk with 2:20 to go and managed just one shot on goal before Tavares sealed the win with an empty-netter, his 16th tally of the season, with 25 seconds remaining.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Toronto   Minnesota
Auston Matthews 2 Points Ryan Suter 1
Auston Matthews 1 Goals Ryan Suter 1
Auston Matthews 1 Assists Kevin Fiala 1
Auston Matthews 1 Power Play Goals Ryan Suter 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Frederik Andersen .963 Save Percentage Devan Dubnyk .893
Frederik Andersen 26 Saves Devan Dubnyk 25
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Toronto 29 4 1-3 2-3 6 31
Minnesota 27 1 1-3 2-3 6 34
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game at home against Winnipeg. The Wild have a W/L % of .421 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • Toronto will play their next game on the road against Winnipeg. The Maple Leafs have a W/L % of .591 after a win and .474 after a loss.