Toronto Maple Leafs down Rangers 4-3; New York eliminated from playoff contention

By Canadian Press on March 25, 2026.

TORONTO — Joseph Woll made 40 saves and John Tavares scored the winner as the Toronto Maple Leafs topped the New York Rangers 4-3 on Wednesday night.

Jake McCabe, Nick Robertson and Dakota Joshua had the other goals for Toronto (31-29-13).

Matias Maccelli added two assists. Woll picked up the second assist on Joshua’s goal for his first NHL point.

Mika Zibanejad, with two goals, and Alexis Lafrenière, with a goal and two assists, replied for New York (29-35-9), which was eliminated from playoff contention with the loss. Igor Shesterkin stopped 14 shots. Adam Fox chipped in two assists.

The disappointing Maple Leafs picked up just their second victory (2-7-3) at Scotiabank Arena since mid-January.

New York, which will finish below the post-season cutline for a second straight spring, sits second-last in the overall standings. Toronto ranks 21st and is on the way to missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

TAKEAWAYS

Rangers: Adam Sykora made his NHL debut after being called up from the Hartford Wolf Pack. The 21-year-old winger, selected 63rd overall at the 2022 draft, put up 12 goals and 17 assists for 29 points across 62 games in the American Hockey League in 2025-26.

Maple Leafs: William Nylander is one point away from passing his father, Michael, for family bragging rights. The winger has 679 points in 741 regular-season games. The elder Nylander registered 679 points in 920 contests.

KEY MOMENT

Tavares scored his 26th goal of the season at 11:57 of the third period to make it 4-2 when he ripped a shot past Shesterkin after Toronto had built a 3-0 lead in the second.

KEY STAT

New York, which tied a dubious franchise record with just 10 shots in Monday’s 2-1 home loss to the Ottawa Senators, directed 14 attempts on target in Wednesday’s opening period. The visitors also pumped 17 more pucks on Woll in the second.

UP NEXT

Rangers: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday

Maple Leafs: Visit the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2026.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press