Maple Leafs hold on for 4-3 win over Wild

In St Paul, the Toronto Maple Leafs held off a late charge from the Minnesota Wild on Friday afternoon to grab a 4-3 win.“We have a good enough team and we’re deep enough that every game is winnable,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “Don’t make excuses. Don’t feel sorry for yourself. Just go out and compete and test your game if you need to. The confidence we’re getting from our goaltending really is fueling a lot of things for our team. We just feel like we can win no matter what. So, all of those pieces have come together here. We’ve just got to stay with it.”

Matt Murray made 23 saves in the Maple Leafs win.

Toronto improved to 12-5-1.

Mitchell Marner put the Leafs up, 1-0 at 3:42 of the first period.

“I think we’re just playing the way we want to,” Marner said. “Trying to be above people, trying to make it hard to get through the neutral zone. We’re not scoring the prettiest of ways right now, but we’re getting guys around that net. We’re getting second opportunities, and when the plays are there, we’re making them.”

Kirill Kaprizov tied it, 1-1, on a power play goal, to minutes past the midway point of the frame.

The Maple Leafs regained the lead with 42 seconds gone in the middle frame on a goal from Zach Aston-Reese .

Less than two minutes later, Matt Boldy  tied it, 2-2 for the Wild.

The Wild dropped to 9-9-2.

“We had the looks,” Wild coach Dean Evason said. “Everything was executed correctly from whenever we pulled [Fleury], four [minutes] and a bit, we definitely gave ourselves a chance at the end.”

Toronto picked up a goal from Calle Jarnkrok at 10:04 of the second for a 3-2 advantage.

William Nylander pushed the lead to -2 in the third period.

“Obviously, very special,” Nylander said. “Obviously tough, an emotional day yesterday. It was nice to get the win for him and get that goal for him.”

That insurance was needed because Mats Zuccarello  scored in the 17th minute of the period to cut the lead to 4-3.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves in the Wild loss.

“I thought we played good,” Fleury said. “That second goal is on me. It’s definitely a stupid goal. I think I stepped out. But other than that, I thought we played good. The penalty kill was pretty good (3-for-3), and the battle back at the end. [We] just missed that fourth one.”