In Toronto, the Maple Leafs posted four goals in the second period on Thursday to overcome an early two-goal deficit to the Winnipeg Jets, enroute to a 7-3 win.
Auston Matthews scored his 50th of the season, William Nylander hit for a pair of goals for the Maple Leafs.
“It means a lot,” Matthews said. “It was pretty special just to do it at home as well. The energy and the atmosphere tonight was pretty special. Like I’ve said before, I’m really fortunate to play with some pretty amazing players and some pretty good teams throughout these six years.”
Ilya Mikheyev added a single marker and three points in the win.
Matthews leads to the NHL in goal scoring.
“I just try to stay present, try to do my thing, and maybe when I’m done playing I can think about [my legacy],” Matthews said. “Right now, obviously, I have a job to do and it’s not finished yet.”
Erik Kallgren made 20 saves in the Toronto win.
Blake Wheeler and Paul Stastny scored in the first period for the early 2-0 lead.
“We had a lot of clock left (after going down 2-0) to find ourselves,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. “We didn’t start well, not even close to the same level of intensity and speed that we had played with here over the last three games prior to tonight. That was disappointing and we paid for it.”
The Maple Leafs improved to 43-19-5.
“We played good in the first but we were cooked the rest of the game,” Wheeler said. “Second period, I think we just didn’t have anything. We tried to push a little bit in the third but just couldn’t get one to go early. First was great, second I think we were just tired.”
Nikolaj Ehlers also scored for the Jets, his goal game them a 3-2 lead after the Maple Leafs rallied to tie it, 2-2.
“We didn’t surprise ourselves (with our start), we’ve had some really bad starts in the last few games, there’s no secret in that,” Ehlers said. “We went out there with a plan today and it worked, so that’s something we have to continue doing but also keep that for the full 60 (minutes).
“We’re in a spot right now where we need to win games, and obviously besides playoffs, this is the toughest part of the year and wins are not easy to get. We need to continue grinding. There’s got to be some belief in winning games because we have the team to do it.”
Winnipeg dropped to 33-26-10.
John Tavares and Mark Giordano g also scored for Toronto.
“It felt pretty good,” Giordano said. “It was Johnny (Tavares) going backdoor there and I was trying to hit him, but I’ll take that bounce, I’ll tell you that much, so it was nice to see it go in. I thought individually I wasn’t very good to start the game, so I felt like that really helped me get going and move on from a couple of mistakes.”
Matthews goal gave the Maple Leafs a 6-3 lead, the goal was potted into an empty net.
“It was pretty unreal (to feel the atmosphere when Matthews scored),” Nylander said. “It actually reminded me of when I was younger and my dad (Michael Nylander) was playing [for the Washington Capitals] and [Alex] Ovechkin scored 50 one night when I was there. I think it was the night where he [warmed his hands on his stick]. It brought back some memories, but it’s just incredible. Well deserved.”
Timothy Liljegren scored off the power play for the Leafs for the 7-3 final with under two minutes to go in the game.
Eric Comrie made 31 saves in the Jets loss.
You must be logged in to post a comment.