Matthews scored his fourth hat-trick of the year on Thursday, just as he reached the season's halfway mark.
Matthews scored his fourth hat-trick of the year on Thursday, just as he reached the season's halfway mark.
If there's anyone the Maple Leafs should be thanking after Thursday night, it's video coaches Jordan Bean and Sam Kim.
Auston Matthews had three goals and an assist, plus "MVP" chants in Calgary. William Nylander tallied two assists. Martin Jones stopped 23 of 26 shots against.
The Calgary Flames put up a difficult fight, but Toronto's video coaches saved the game for the Maple Leafs in the third period.
It was a tough start for Toronto as they had to scoop the puck out of their net twice in the first period.
With the Maple Leafs chasing the puck throughout their zone, Calgary capitalized. Matthew Knies goes low to try and cover Elias Lindholm as he's open in front, but the puck goes to the point, which then causes Knies to turn and try to block the point shot.
He cannot do so, and as the shot is fired towards the net, John Tavares tries to tie up Yegor Sharangovich's stick but can't. Sharangovich would then redirect Rasmus Andersson's point shot past Martin Jones to take a 1-0 lead.
Just over four minutes later, Morgan Rielly takes a tripping penalty, giving the Flames another opportunity to score. And score they do.
Calgary moves the puck around, and former Maple Leaf Nazem Kadri's shot goes off former Flames defenseman Mark Giordano's foot and into the back of Toronto's net to put Calgary up 2-0.
Luckily for the Maple Leafs, instead of going into the first intermission down by a pair of goals, they walk into the dressing room down by just one.
That's because Auston Matthews steps foot onto the ice, receives the puck, and puts it between his legs before firing the puck past Dan Vladar for his 35th goal of the season.
Gregor almost lost it before recovering and pushing the puck up to the NHL's leading goalscorer for Toronto's opening goal in Calgary.
And that wasn't the last goal from Matthews on the night.
After some strong play from Toronto to start the period, they capitalize on a delayed penalty call. Pontus Holmberg finds the puck in a scrum of players, finds William Nylander, and gets Matthews the puck.
The 26-year-old beats Vladar for his second goal of the game (tying it at 2-2) and 36th on the season.
Holmberg seems to be fitting in well with Toronto's top line. His second-period assist gives him seven points in the last seven games.
The scoring wouldn't stop there, though.
Morgan Rielly draws a tripping penalty three minutes after Matthews' second goal. On the power play, Nylander's great deception would allow him to squeeze the puck through a few sticks to Mitch Marner, who would score and put the Maple Leafs up by one.
That's his 19th goal of the season and fifth in the last seven games. With an assist, Nylander has two points in the game, while Matthews, who also had an assist on the goal, has three points.
But one thing the NHL's leading goal scorer hasn't done? Have a five-point game.
He'd get his fourth point of the evening after using his body to get his stick on the puck and putting it past Vladar for the hat-trick goal. It also pushes the Maple Leafs up by two goals after being down by a pair in the first period.
That's Matthews' fourth hat trick — in just 42 games this season. We've hit the halfway point in the NHL season, and he has four hat-tricks. Four. Plus, he's on pace for 71 goals by the end of the year.
However, Calgary would get on the board before the end of the second period.
With the puck loose in front of Toronto's net, Andrew Mangiapane kicks it, and after going off Timothy Liljegren's stick, the puck crosses the goal line, putting the Flames back down by one.
Now, I was sure this wasn't going to count, but after watching it back, I can see why the referees called it a goal. Mangiapane might kick the puck, but it appears to be going wide before Liljegren gets his stick on it.
After that, it crosses the goal line for a good goal.
In the third period, Calgary scored, but it was called back after Toronto's video coaches spotted the puck hitting Blake Coleman, which is a hand pass.
The Flames would push but after a late penalty from Elias Lindholm, Toronto would hold on, winning their first game since Jan. 09 against the San Jose Sharks at home.
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