TORONTO — Alexander Nikishin scored 41 seconds into overtime as the Carolina Hurricanes downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 on Friday.
Eric Robinson, on a penalty shot, K’Andre Miller and Jordan Staal had the other goals for Carolina (44-19-6). Brandon Bussi made 23 saves. Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho had two assists apiece.
John Tavares, William Nylander and Dakota Joshua replied for Toronto (29-28-13), which got 32 stops from Joseph Woll. Matias Maccelli added two assists.
Nikishin scored the winner in the extra period when he ripped a shot beyond Woll’s blocker.
The Metropolitan Division-leading Hurricanes entered Friday third in the NHL’s overall standings and first in the Eastern Conference.
The severely underperforming…