Maple Leafs win in OT, Penguins gain in East wild-card race

Matthew Knies scored, and Samsonov made 30 saves for the Maple Leafs (45-23-9), who are 5-1-0 in their past six games.

Toronto trails the Florida Panthers by three points for second in the Atlantic Division with a game in hand.

“I just think not a pretty game by any means for both sides,” Matthews said. “I just thought staying patient, doing a job in our own end and just trying to find a way through a slushy game. [McCabe] is such a competitor, he battles every single night for us, especially in the defensive zone. He plays an important role for us, so it’s always nice to see guys like that get rewarded on the offensive side.”

Rickard Rakell and Drew O'Connor scored for the Penguins (36-30-12), who had won four in a row and are 6-0-3 in their past nine. Nedeljkovic made 20 saves in his ninth straight start.

The Penguins are tied with the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, but Detroit has played one fewer game.

“I just loved our compete level,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “I think our guys are really committed. Their compete level is high, it’s not perfect out there. We are battling hard, we’re trying to play together. The chatter on the bench during the game is great, so we just have to stay with it. It’s a hard-fought point, it’s a big point. Obviously, we are disappointed we don’t get the second one, but it’s a hard-fought point.”