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Zuccarello nets winner as Blueshirts down Leafs

Feb 11, 2015 - 5:03 AM Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Mats Zuccarello scored twice, including the winner late in the third as the New York Rangers grabbed a 5-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.

Dominic Moore, Dan Boyle and Kevin Hayes all scored for the Rangers, who had dropped their previous two coming in. Cam Talbot allowed four goals on 33 shots.

Morgan Rielly scored twice while Stephane Robidas and Daniel Winnik also lit the lamp for the Maple Leafs, who had won against Edmonton on Saturday to snap a franchise-record 11-game losing streak. James Reimer allowed all five goals on 39 shots.

"When you're trading chances all game with a team like that it's tough," said Rielly. "You get down early and you wind up playing catch-up and it's a tough way to play."

Toronto trailed by two goals entering the third, but made it a one-goal game 20 seconds in as Rielly's heavy wrister from the slot went through a screen and in.

Just over six minutes later, a turnover at the Toronto blue line saw the puck go the other way. Winnik picked up the disc and skated down the left wing, going behind the net before throwing the puck out front where it hit off a sliding Ryan McDonagh and went in.

The Rangers, though, went back on top with 5:56 to play as Nash sent a backhand pass from the low left circle to the slot where Zuccarello wristed it in for his 10th of the season.

The Leafs got Reimer out of the net for an extra attacker with just over a minute to play, but were unable to get one in.

"It was not a pretty game, but sometimes you just have to grease one out and find a way which I thought we were able to do tonight," said Talbot. "The best thing is just the way we battled. It could have been easy once they came back to tie it there in the third period to kind of get down on ourselves; but the guys were resilient, battling back. The two points were huge."

The Rangers scored 2:57 into the first as Derick Brassard sent a pass from behind the right side of the net to the front where Boyle one-timed it home.

It was a 2-0 lead for New York at 10:37 of the first after a turnover in the Toronto end saw Rick Hans pass it from the right side to the front where Zuccarello had an open net.

Skating on the power play, the Leafs got one back with 4:21 to play in the first as Rielly wristed the puck over the glove of Talbot from the left circle.

New York took a two-goal lead back 1:42 into the second when Marc Staal rushed the net down the right side and slid it across for Hayes, who tapped it in for his eighth of the year.

Toronto needed just 26 seconds to respond as Robidas threw the puck on net from the left point and it found its way in.

New York, though, scored a shorthanded goal as Moore's turnaround shot from the top of the right circle beat Reimer cleanly for his fifth of the season and a 4-2 lead.

Game Notes

New York plays in Colorado on Thursday ... Toronto plays in New York against the Islanders on Thursday ... Nash finished with three assists while Brassard and Staal each had two ... The Maple Leafs went 1-for-2 on the power play, while the Rangers were 0-for-2.