Maple Leafs' firepower play smashes Stars

[October 10, 2018]  Auston Matthews and John Tavares scored two goals each, and Mitchell Marner had a goal and three assists as the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs outlasted the Dallas Stars 7-4 in an offensive showcase on Tuesday.

Toronto has now scored 20 goals over its first four contests and has three wins despite surrendering an average of more than four goals per game. Dallas suffered its first loss of the season.

Marner opened the scoring for the Maple Leafs when he gathered in a loose puck in the slot and fired a wrister past Dallas goaltender Ben Bishop for an unassisted goal at the 9:40 mark of the first period.

The Stars answered with 2:37 remaining in the first as Alexander Radulov fired a wrister that deflected off a defender and into the back of the net behind Toronto goalie Frederik Andersen to tie the score at 1. Tyler Seguin and Miro Heiskanen earned assists on the goal.

Matthews wasted no time putting the Maple Leafs back in front, one-timing a pass from Kasperi Kapanen late in the period to give Toronto a 2-1 lead.

That advantage lasted until near the midway point of the second period, when Seguin took a perfect feed from Esa Lindell to set up a breakaway before the Dallas winger flipped a shot through Andersen's legs to knot it at 2-2. Bishop also had an assist for his clearing pass on the play.

Matthews scored his second goal of the game, and seventh of the season, at the 11:59 mark of the second off assists from Morgan Rielly and Marner to put the Maple Leafs back in front.

Four minutes later, Ron Hainsey converted a pass from Kapanen and an assist from Par Lindholm into his first goal of the season to push Toronto's advantage to 4-2.

Maple Leafs center Par Lindholm (26) and Dallas Stars center Mattias Janmark (13) fight for the puck during the second period at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Tavares expanded the margin to 5-2 with 3 minutes to play in the period with his fifth goal of the year off assists by Marner and Rielly. Dallas continued the offensive shootout a minute later as Jamie Benn scored after an assist from Radulov and a pass from Seguin to cut the Toronto lead to 5-3 heading into the third period.

John Klingberg's goal 2:39 into the third period off assists from Radulov and Seguin brought the Stars within 5-4 and looked to have turned the tide. But Tavares quickly responded, utilizing a workmanlike effort from Marner and an assist from Nikita Zaitsev at the 4:55 mark of the period to re-establish Toronto's two-goal edge.

Connor Brown scored an empty-netter with 3:20 to play off assists by Rielly and Hainsey, as Toronto scored seven goals for the second consecutive game.

Bishop, who had allowed just one goal and made 62 saves in the Stars' first two games, both of them wins, had no answer for the Maple Leafs' firepower on Tuesday, allowing six goals on 29 shots.

Andersen saved 30 of the 34 shots he faced.

--Field Level Media

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