After surrendering two two-goal leads against the Vegas Golden Knights, the Toronto Maple Leafs flipped the script vs. the Winnipeg Jets, coming from behind in the third period to pull out a 4–3 overtime win. The Maple Leafs spent long stretches on Saturday night chasing the game in Winnipeg, playing more with patience than control.
Related: 2 Takeaways From the Maple Leafs’ 4-3 OT Win Over the Jets
Against a heavy Jets team that’s usually comfortable defending leads, the path to two points looked narrow. Somehow, they found it anyway. That matters for two reasons. First, the standings benefit, because the points pull them up two. Second, because wins like these tend to expose which parts of a roster can hold shape when things tilt.
This game did exactly that.
Item One: Oliver Ekman-Larsson Is Playing Impressive Hockey
There are nights when Oliver Ekman-Larsson (OEL) fades into the background, and nights when you suddenly realize how many important things run through him. Saturday was the latter. He scored a goal, added two assists, and was involved in the play that led directly to the overtime winner. Ekman-Larsson has now put up six points in four games.
But that only tells part of the story. The bigger piece was how often Ekman-Larsson was in the right place at just the right time. Killing plays, moving pucks calmly, getting shots through traffic, and — Auston Matthews pointed out afterward — OEL broke up the sequence that allowed Toronto to attack in overtime.
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That kind of impact doesn’t show up as dominance. It shows up as control. When the Maple Leafs were scrambling early, Ekman-Larsson didn’t chase the chaos. He simplified it. When they pushed late, he didn’t force the offence. He just took advantage of what the hockey gods provided. On nights when Toronto doesn’t have the game under its thumb, that steadiness becomes an advantage.
Item Two: Dennis Hildeby and “Giving Your Team a Chance”
Listening to his teammates after the game, the interesting part was that nobody in the Toronto room overthought Dennis Hildeby’s night in Winnipeg. For me, that means he’s become part of the fabric of the team. That “he’s just there doing his job” might be the highest compliment a goaltender can receive.
(John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images)
Hildeby stopped 27 shots in a 4–3 overtime win over the Jets on Saturday, doing exactly what he was supposed to do. He remained steady, battled through traffic, and kept the night from going off the rails. Of his 27 saves, several of them were the kind that arrive in scrambles and broken plays. These are moments where a goalie’s job is to forget technique and channel refusal. Bobby McMann called him “unreal,” and the word fit the night.
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Hildeby didn’t steal the game, but he kept it in reach. Winnipeg had chances to push the lead beyond two goals. They didn’t, because Hildeby stayed calm and present when the game threatened to get away. It was a night where the old hockey saying — “gave us a chance to win” — made sense.
Item Three: Borya Valis Is Finding His Game Again in the AHL
Borya Valis popped up with a pair of goals Saturday in the American Hockey League (AHL) Toronto Marlies’ 5–4 win over the Iowa Wild. It was a welcome sign that his season is settling back into rhythm. After coming out of the gate hot, Valis hit a wall in November and December.
Lately, however, his game looks more comfortable again. He now has three goals and two assists over his last six games, which suggests he’s finding his timing, not forcing plays, and getting back to shooting first. The shots have been there (75 shots in 36 games). When a young player is pushing that much rubber toward the opposition goalie, production usually follows.
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There’s no rush here, and there shouldn’t be. Valis is 21, still learning where offence comes from at this level, and still figuring out how to carry it night after night. For now, this is about how he’s trending, not whether he gets a call-up. Development doesn’t move in straight lines. As the Maple Leafs organization found out with McMann, patience can be rewarded.
What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?
The Maple Leafs won a game they didn’t control, and that’s worth thinking about. This wasn’t a win based on dominance or systems working perfectly. It was about hanging in there long enough for chances to appear and then taking advantage.
The Maple Leafs have built a bit of a reputation for third-period pushback, which sits oddly beside their inability to hold third-period leads. Funny, that. The next step is learning how to reduce the need for it. The resilience might be real, but the standings show that the margin remains thin.
