Matthew Knies broke a tie 6:21 into the third period, and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the New York Rangers 3-2 at Madison Square Garden in New York on Friday.

Matthew Knies broke a third-period tie, Anthony Stolarz made 33 saves and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Rangers 3-2 on Friday night. Knies scored his 22nd goal at 6:21 of the third, less than three minutes after Will Cuylle tied it for New York with a short-handed goal.

With 23 games remaining in the regular season, the Rangers (29-26-4, 62 points) remain four points behind the Blue Jackets and Red Wings.

Friday night’s 3-2 loss to the Maple Leafs at Madison Square Garden counted as the fifth consecutive time the Blueshirts whiffed on an opportunity to stack three wins in a row, which deprived them of two crucial points with their surrounding teams in the Eastern Conference wild-card race dormant for the night.