RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Joseph Woll made 25 saves and the Toronto Maple Leafs moved closer to clinching the Atlantic Division title by defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 on Sunday, reaching the 50-win mark.
Pontus Holmberg, Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares scored for Toronto, which has won three straight and seven of its last eight overall. Morgan Rielly had three assists.
Toronto has 104 points, and Tampa Bay, which began the day four points back, could equal that mark at best.
Sebastian Aho scored on a third-period power play, but the Hurricanes have lost five of their last six games. Frederik Andersen, who stopped 16 shots, lost his third consecutive game.
The Maple Leafs scored on their fourth and sixth shots of the game. They had only 12 shots on goal through two periods.
TakeawaysMaple Leafs: Nylander’s team-leading 45th goal was his first since he scored twice in a victory against Columbus on April 5. Toronto won two of three meetings with Carolina, which is also playoff-bound.
Hurricanes: It’s the third time in their last five games when they failed to score more than one goal.
Key momentThe Maple Leafs were stuck with one shot on goal more than 18½ minutes into the game. Holmberg knocked in a rebound to make it 1-0 with 17 seconds left in the first.
Key statThe Hurricanes finished the regular season with a 31-9-1 home record, holding the top mark in home points in the Eastern Conference despite the end of a four-game home winning streak.
Up nextThe Maple Leafs play their road finale Tuesday night at Buffalo. The Hurricanes visit Montreal on Wednesday night.
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