Matthews became the first player since Alex Ovechkin to open a regular season with back-to-back hat tricks.
The Toronto Maple Leafs haven't dominated their first two regular season games. But having one of the best scorers in the NHL can cover up some early blemishes.
When his team has needed him the most, Auston Matthews has delivered. He recorded another hat trick tonight, opening the regular season with six goals. He became the first player to record back-to-back hat tricks since Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin accomplished the feat during the 2017-18 season.
"I’ve gotten somewhat comfortable and used to Auston having big nights," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said following his team's 7-4 win against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. "To do so in back-to-back nights to start a season, it’s terrific. He looks like he’s having lots of fun."
Matthews' goals
After Minnesota's Ryan Hartman opened the scoring, Matthews tied the game just over a minute later.
Just 1:41 later, Matthews hit a sharp-angle shot to give the Maple Leafs' a lead they would never give up.
Although they held onto the lead, things got dicey for Toronto who let a 4-1 lead get cut down to 4-3.
Matthews put the game away for good in the third period with a move behind the net to put Toronto up 6-3.
Nylander scored twice as both players accounted for five of Toronto's seven goals in a 7-4 victory on Saturday against the Minnesota Wild.
With six goals in his first two games, Matthews is showing signs of the dominance from the 2021-22 season in which he became the first player in 10 years to score 60 in a season. It was also the year he won his first Hart Trophy, handed out annually to the NHL's most valuable player.
Last season, Matthews scored 40 goals and added 45 games but was playing hurt all season.
"I do think he’s come in refreshed and healthy," Keefe said of Matthews. "He’s had a really good offseason.
I really don’t think he cares how many goals he gets, he cares about how many wins we get.”
Keefe also noted Matthews' 60-goal season from two years ago and noted how strong his defensive game was during that year and how he's been equally dialed in through two games thus far.
William Nylander shines
The talented Maple Leafs forward scored twice and has three goals in his first two games.
Nylander demonstrated his scoring touch with a solo effort, skating around one defender and beating Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson in close to make it 4-1 Toronto.
"The way he skates and handles the puck and is able to just dice his way through the neutral zone and offensive zone is special," Matthews said of Nylander's goal. "Just unreal patience to hang on to that and beat the guy wide and take it around the net."
Maple Leafs still looking for their game
Expecting a more structured game against the Minnesota Wild than they had in their 6-5 shootout win against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday, it was more of the same for Toronto. At times there were defensive issues and the Wild had a 54 percent share of the expected goals at even strength.
"[I] didn’t think it was our best effort ever or the cleanest performance, but it’s early," Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly said. "The expectation is you continue to get better with every outing. There will be lots of good things to take away, but there are always areas to clean up.
Two games and two fights for Ryan Reaves
Ryan Reaves wanted a big showing against his former team. There was no better way to do that than squaring up against former teammate Marcus Foligno.
Reaves and Foligno were seen outside of the dressing room after the game chatting so everything appears to be all good.
Matthews handed out the team's championship belt trophy to Reaves after the game.
Bertuzzi's fit on the first line.
Tyler Bertuzzi scored his first goal as a Maple Leafs on Saturday and Keefe says the player has been fitting with Matthews and Mitch Marner as the reps continue.
"I thought the third period of the game against Montreal, you could see by that," Keefe said.
Red-hot power play
The Maple Leafs have scored four power-play goals in seven opportunities (57 percent) and haven't lost a step since Guy Boucher came in this season to take over what has been historically a strong special teams unit.
Tyler Bertuzzi says he's noticed a difference on this power play compared to others he has worked on with other teams. While not sharing details, just watching you can see that the Leafs have moved away from the typical 1-3-1 formation and have had more players down low. This has added a bit of unpredictability for the opposing penalty kill.
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