William Nylander's OT goal gives Leafs 4-3 victory, snaps Avalanche's 17-game home win streak

DENVER (AP) — William Nylander scored 3:59 into overtime and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat Colorado 4-3 on Monday night to snap the Avalanche’s 17-game home win streak.

Nylander took a pass from Oliver Ekman-Larsson and lined it past Trent Miner.

Auston Matthews, Easton Cowan and Bobby McMann also added goals as the Maple Leafs improved to 8-0-2 over their last 10 games.

Joseph Woll turned back 31 shots. He also helped the Maple Leafs withstand a late penalty at the end of regulation.

It was Colorado’s first home loss since Oct. 23. The Avalanche came within a win of matching the franchise’s longest home streak, which was set by the 2021-22 Stanley Cup-winning team. Colorado (19-0-3) hasn't lost in regulation at Ball Arena this season.

Cale Makar, Brock Nelson and Martin Necas scored for Colorado, while Nathan MacKinnon finished with three assists. MacKinnon nearly had the winner in OT, but his shot rang off the crossbar.

Miner, fresh off a 29-save shutout win Saturday, appeared again in net and stopped 27 shots. He was called on to make consecutive starts with Scott Wedgewood dinged up and Mackenzie Blackwood out with a lower-body injury.

Martin Necas tied the game at 3-apiece with 7:05 remaining in regulation after Matthews gave Toronto the lead.

MacKinnon had a pair of assists in the first period to help the Avalanche grab a 2-1 lead. It was the 313th multipoint game of MacKinnon's career, tying him with Peter Stastny for second-most in franchise history. Joe Sakic leads the way with 473.

Toronto scored first when Cowan's pass bounced off the skate of Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns and into the net.

Later in the period, Nicholas Robertson was helped off the ice after being hit by the puck in the left leg.

Maple Leafs: At Utah on Tuesday.

Avalanche: Host Nashville on Friday.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Nicholas Robertson lies on the ice after injuring his left leg in the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll deflects a shot in the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, back, passes the puck as Toronto Maple Leafs center Max Domi defends in the first period of an NHL hockey game, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews, left, directs the puck at Colorado Avalanche goaltender Trent Miner, right, while being checked by Avalanche defenseman Sam Malinski, second from left, in the second period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, front, congratulates right wing William Nylander after he scored the winning goal in overtime of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

HONG KONG (AP) — Former executives of a now-defunct, pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong who were convicted under a national security law pleaded for lighter sentences Tuesday in a landmark case widely seen as a barometer of media freedom in a city once hailed as a bastion of free press in Asia.

The former journalists pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security. They admitted to the prosecution's charge that said they conspired with their ex-boss and onetime media mogul Jimmy Lai to request foreign sanctions, blockades or engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong or China.

Lai, the Apple Daily founder who pleaded not guilty in the case, was convicted in December. The verdict raised concerns about the city's declining press freedom and drew criticism from foreign governments.

But the government insists the case has nothing to do with media freedom, saying the defendants used news reporting as a pretext for years to commit acts that harmed China and Hong Kong.

Their sentences are expected to be handed down at a later date.

Six Apple Daily executives were convicted in Lai's case: publisher Cheung Kim-hung; associate publisher Chan Pui-man; editor-in-chief Ryan Law; executive editor-in-chief Lam Man-chung; executive editor-in-chief responsible for English news Fung Wai-kong; and editorial writer Yeung Ching-kee. Some of them served as prosecution witnesses during the 156-day trial.

A conviction on the collusion charge carries a sentence ranging from three years to life in prison. But a guilty plea can result in a sentence reduction. Under the security law, a reduced penalty may be granted to those who report on offenses committed by others.

Chan's lawyer, Marco Li, said if the judges decided to place his client in the upper sentencing band, he suggested the starting point should be 10 years, given her limited role. Citing factors including her timely plea and assistance to the prosecution, he asked for her sentence to be halved.

Li said Chan, who started working at Apple Daily in 1996, regretted not resisting even more firmly when matters arose that made her uncomfortable. But according to her mitigation letter, Chan couldn't leave her beloved job casually at that time because she was suffering serious health issues and was under financial burden.

Chung Pui-kuen, Chan's husband and a former top editor of the now-shuttered Stand News, was among those in the public gallery. He was sentenced to 21 months in jail in a separate sedition case.

Lai founded Apple Daily in 1995, two years before Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule. It attracted a strong following with its sometimes sensational reports, investigative scoops and eventual short animated video reports. Being openly critical of the Hong Kong and Chinese governments, the newspaper was well-received among pro-democracy readers.

During Hong Kong's massive anti-government protests in 2019, Apple Daily ran articles sympathetic to protesters and supportive of the pro-democracy movement that saw hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets.

After Beijing imposed the security law to quell the protests, Lai was one of the first prominent figures to be arrested. Within a year, Apple Daily's former executives also were arrested. The prosecutions, asset freeze and police raids forced the newspaper's closure in June 2021. Its final edition sold a million copies.

In their December verdict, the three government-appointed judges said Lai had used Apple Daily as a platform for spreading his political ideas and implementing his political agenda before and after the introduction of the security law.

The judges on Monday heard arguments about the sentencing of Lai, Cheung and two other non-Apple Daily activists involved in the former publisher’s case.

When Lai entered the courtroom Tuesday, he smiled at people sitting in the public gallery as a supporter formed a heart shape with her hands.

FILE - In this June 23, 2021, file photo, Lam Man-chung, left, executive editor-in-Chief of Apple Daily and Chan Pui-man, center, associate publisher of Apple Daily gesture at the headquarters before the newspaper stop publishing in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

FILE - Chan Pui-man, associate publisher of Apple Daily newspaper walks out from a court in Hong Kong, June 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung), File)