Matthews and Joshua score eight seconds apart to help Leafs rally past Blackhawks 3-2

By Canadian Press on December 16, 2025.

TORONTO — Dakota Joshua batted in a rebound with 3:01 left to play as the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied past the Chicago Blackhawks for a 3-2 win on Tuesday.

Third-period goals by Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Auston Matthews helped Toronto (15-12-5) erase a 2-0 deficit and complete a wild comeback.

Joseph Woll made 23 saves for the win, only the Maple Leafs’ second victory this season after trailing after two periods.

Wyatt Kaiser and Jason Dickinson, short-handed, staked Chicago (13-14-6) to an early 2-0 lead in the first period.

Spencer Knight stopped 24 shots in the loss.

The Blackhawks were without third-year centre Connor Bedard, who was placed on Chicago’s injured reserve Monday for at least two weeks because of an upper-body injury.

Bedard has a team-high 19 goals and 25 assists in 31 games.

TAKEAWAYS

Blackhawks: Without Bedard, Chicago focused on the basics of the game, breaking up Toronto’s passes, getting bodies in front of Woll, and shooting through traffic. Teuvo Teravainen had a goal disallowed with 8:33 left in the first after a video replay ruled there was goaltender interference.

Maple Leafs: A flat effort in the first period led to Toronto head coach Craig Berube giving his team a tongue-lashing on the bench with 8:33 left in the frame. Fans had started to boo the Maple Leafs with 10 minutes left in the game before Ekman-Larsson brought them back on side with his goal.

KEY MOMENT

Knight gave up a juicy rebound and Joshua, forechecking hard, fought past a defenceman to bat the puck into Chicago’s net just eight seconds after Matthews had tied it on the power play.

KEY STAT

Chicago’s penalty-kill unit was ranked fourth in the NHL heading into the game and Toronto’s power play was tied for 30th in the league before puck drop. That disparity was evident on Tuesday as the Maple Leafs went 1-for-3 and the Hawks were 0-for-1.

UP NEXT

Blackhawks: Visit the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

Maple Leafs: Visit the Washington Capitals on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 16, 2025.

John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press