Aston-Reese at the double as Maple Leafs sink Hurricanes 5-2

Toronto Maple Leafs won 5-2 against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night.

Tonight’s @OLG_CA Game Winning Numbers | #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/PdJFjzKHUX

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 18, 2023

Zach Aston-Reese scored two, with Morgan Rielly, Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews each adding one to help Toronto en route to victory.

John Taveras and Calle Jarnkrok each had two assist as goaltender Ilya Samsonov made 32 saves.

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With a fine run of form with 4 wins out of their last 7 matches, Toronto currently find themselves three points above third-placed Tampa Bay in the Atlantic Division.

“When they were pressuring us hard, we did our job,” the delighted Marner said.

“We bent a little bit, but didn’t break. We stayed to our structure. … We got opportunities off it, and when we did, we didn’t miss.”

Martin Necas and Brady Skjei both put their names in the scoresheet in a disappointing night for Carolina, who has now lost three out of their last four games. Goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov made 19 saves.

The leaders of the Metropolitan Division currently sit one point off second-placed New Jersey.