Ducks defense disappears against Maple Leafs

William Nylander scored twice, including the tiebreaking goal early in the third period, and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Anaheim Ducks 7-4 on Monday night.

Auston Matthews also had two goals for the Maple Leafs. Mitch Marner, Leo Komarov and Zach Hyman scored one apiece, but the win might have come at a cost.

Toronto starting goaltender Frederik Andersen left at 6:15 of the second period after he was struck in the head by Corey Perry’s left skate.

Andersen stopped 25 of 28 shots before being replaced by backup Curtis McElhinney, who improved to 6-4 this season with 16 saves on 17 shots.

The severity of the injury was unknown, and no update was provided by the Maple Leafs before the end of the game.

Rickard Rakell scored twice for the Ducks, and Perry assisted on all four of their goals. Ryan Getzlaf and Ondrej Kase also scored.

Nylander scored his second goal of the night on a breakaway. His wrist shot beat goalie Ryan Miller at 3:28 of the third to put Toronto ahead 5-4.

Matthews got his second of the game at 16:49, and Hyman added an empty-net goal at 19:06.

The Maple Leafs opened the scoring 6:32 into the first period when Matthews skated in unabated and wrapped the puck around the net past Miller.

The Ducks responded early in the second. Rakell centered a pass to Getzlaf in front and his shot beat Andersen 43 seconds into the period.

Nylander and Rakell traded goals before Kase scored at 8:23 on the power play to give Anaheim a 3-2 lead.

Toronto answered with a power-play goal of its own. Marner’s snap shot tied it 3-all at 15:28.

Komarov also scored in the second when he tipped Jake Gardiner’s shot past Miller to give Toronto a 4-3 advantage at 17:40.

Rakell scored his second of the game at 2:07 of the third period when he found an opening above McElhinney’s glove to tie it 4-all.

NOTES: The Maple Leafs loaned defenseman Andreas Borgman to the Toronto Marlies, their minor league affiliate, hours before the game. The rookie earned a spot out of training camp and had been on the Maple Leafs’ roster until Monday. He had three goals and eight assists in 11 games.

UP NEXT

Ducks: At the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.

Maple Leafs: Host the Nashville Predators on Wednesday night.

DUCKS AT BUFFALO SABRES

When: Tuesday, 4 p.m. PST

On the air: TV: Prime Ticket; Radio: 830

Update: The Ducks’ three-game swing through Canada is over, and it was an abject disaster. They nabbed one point in the overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators, but then allowed five goals to the Montreal Canadiens and another seven to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday in defeats. Ryan Miller earned the start in all three games with John Gibson sidelined with a lower-body injury, and if Gibson can’t go tonight, it will likely be Reto Berra in net. Berra relieved Miller in each of the last two games, and it’s probably coach Randy Carlyle would want to rest his 37-year-old netminder in back-to-back contests. ...

Corey Perry was elevated from the fourth line back to the top unit for Monday’s loss, and he responded with a season-best four assists. Rickard Rakell potted two goals, and the all-star’s 21 goals lead the club. ...

The Ducks are pushing for the playoffs but find themselves on the outside looking in. Their 60 points tie them with two other teams, and with a game against the Eastern Conference-worst Sabres (37 points) on tap, they need to find a way to come away with two points. Buffalo has dropped three straight games.

-- Mike Coppinger