Rielly scores in OT, Maple Leafs down Hurricanes, 3-2

RALEIGH, N.C. _ The two head coaches are close friends.

The two teams have some of the NHL's best rookies.

The Toronto Maple Leafs believe they have an playoff-caliber team this season, and the Carolina Hurricanes may still be another year away, but the two played it Saturday like much was at stake for each team.

It took overtime to decide it, and a goal by defenseman Morgan Rielly at 2:13 gave the Leafs a 3-2 victory at PNC Arena.

It was the rubber game in the season series, matching Canes coach Bill Peters and Mike Babcock of the Leafs, who dined together Friday night at Peters' house. The game almost seemed like an NHL rookie showcase, with so much attention given this season to Auston Matthews, Mitchell Marner and William Nylander of the Leafs and the Canes' Sebastian Aho.

The Canes twice took the lead in the first two periods. The Leafs, who began the game one point out of playoff position in the Eastern Conference, twice responded.

Carolina's Victor Rask scored on a tough shot from low in the right circle in the first, and Teuvo Teravainen scored a power-play goal in the second with an outside shot that glanced off the stick of Rielly in front of goalie Frederik Andersen.

But Mitchell Marner scored 53 seconds after Rask, and James van Riemsdyk used Canes defenseman Klas Dahlbeck as a partial screen in beating goalie Cam Ward in the second.

Another Canes rookie, forward Valentin Zykov, scored Thursday in his NHL debut, but his second game lasted 37 seconds. Slammed into the boards by defenseman Roman Polak, Zykov left with an upper-body injury and did not return.

With Zykov out, Peters moved defenseman Ryan Murphy to forward for a few shifts.

The hit on Zykov _ Polak was not penalized _ wasn't the only one that angered Canes fans. In the second period, Leafs forward Nazem Kadri knocked Ward down behind the Canes net as Ward attempted to play the puck, only to have Ward called for interference on the play.

The Leafs blanked the Canes 4-0 on Feb. 19 at PNC Arena, getting 37 saves from Curtis McElhinney and a spectacular goal from Matthews, who got a shot past Ward while being hooked from behind and then falling forward.

In net Saturday was Andersen, a former Carolina draft pick who spurned the Canes and was making his 55th appearance of the season