The Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers are all in a race to the top of the Atlantic Division. But after a regulation loss by the Panthers on Sunday afternoon combined with a Maple Leafs victory, there's a new leader in first place.
The Leafs are now in the top spot in the division thanks to their 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on Sunday, improving to 45-25-4.
Toronto broke the ice late in the first period after Max Domi's eighth goal of the season, followed by a tally in the second period from Mitch Marner.
The Ducks rallied to tie the score with goals from Leo Carlsson and Sam Colangelo, but Toronto responded with the game-winning goal just past the midway point of the third period from Steven Lorentz.
Joseph Woll made 28 saves in the win for Toronto, while Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal made 20 saves on 23 shots.
3 most impressive Toronto Maple Leafs players from 3-2 win over Anaheim Ducks
#1. Joseph Woll
Having drawn considerable scrutiny for his subpar performance against the San Jose Sharks earlier in the week; Woll responded with a performance that Leaf's fans have been accustomed to seeing this season.
He made 28 saves on the 30 shots that he faced, including four saves each on Trevor Zegras and Mason MacTavish along with three saves on Cutter Gauthier.
He finished the game with a strong .933 save percentage.
#2. Mitch Marner
Is Mitch Marner pricing himself out of Toronto with his career season? He's up for a new contract this summer and can become one of the most highly-coveted free-agent forwards available in recent memory.
His goal against the Ducks on Sunday was his 23rd of the season, increasing his personal point total to 91. He's on pace to reach the 100-point mark for the first time in his career, and may ultimately prove to be too expensive for the Leafs to keep around.
As part of the win over the Ducks, he also 20:22 of ice time and had three total shots.
#3. Simon Benoit
One of the unsung defensemen for the Maple Leafs, Benoit played a key role in the victory over the Ducks.
It was his shot from the point that Lorentz deflected past Dostal for the game-winning goal in the third period, helping to secure two valuable points in the standings for Toronto.
He also finished tied for a team-high +3 rating while playing in 17:26 of ice time.
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