Auston Matthews is inching closer to Toronto Maple Leafs history, and his teammates are coming along with him for the ride.

The 28-year-old scored a hat-trick on Thursday night in a 6-5 win over the Winnipeg Jets. The three goals inch him closer to Mats Sundin's franchise goal record of 420. But it wasn't just him — again, it was a full team effort with 10 different players contributing on the score sheet.

With the win on Thursday, Toronto is two points from a playoff spot. The Buffalo Sabres, who have 46 points, hold the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

It was yet another massive — and gutsy — win by the Maple Leafs as they begin to find their mojo.

Auston Matthews inching closer to Maple Leafs history

Toronto's captain returned after missing a game due to a lower-body injury and picked up right where he left off.

If you watched the game on Thursday, you definitely saw the clip of Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube discussing Matthews' game as of late. If you somehow didn't hear what Toronto's coach had to say, here it is:

"I just started noting, like, just taking pucks in the middle of the ice more and attacking, taking people one-on-one and winning all those battles and things like that," Berube said on Thursday morning. "Just his attack mentality around the net. Looks like he's ripping the puck a little bit quick, like, you know, just more oompf on the shot."

That was on full display in his return to the lineup.

Matthews' first goal came on a tip-in in front, off a Max Domi shot. Matthews made a great defensive play beforehand, stopping a Gabe Vilardi scoring chance. And off the rush, Domi threw the puck on net, and Matthews made an impressive backhanded tip by Eric Comrie.

While on the power play in the dying moments of the second period, Matthews scored off one of his patented wrist shots. He tallied his 16th and 17th goals of the season in the second period against the Jets.

And in the final frame, the hats rained down.

After a huge goal from Troy Stecher to tie the game in the third period, Easton Cowan's pressure created a turnover around the Jets' net. Cowan was able to find Matthews, who was coming in hot, and he put it in the back of the net for his first hat-trick since Feb. 17, 2024.

The three goals on the night put Matthews one away from tying Toronto's franchise goal record of 420, set by Mats Sundin. With the record drawing near, it'll be entertaining to hear what Matthews' teammates have to say about him and his goal-scoring touch.

Dennis Hildeby should start Saturday over Joseph Woll

Entering Thursday, many wondered who would get this start for the Maple Leafs.

Woll had appeared in two of Toronto's three games post-holiday break. And maybe Hildeby deserved another start. Berube, though, went to Woll for the second straight game because of the Maple Leafs' staggered schedule.

The 27-year-old was pulled after four goals on 18 shots against. The yank wasn't because of his play, but more so to give a jolt to the Maple Leafs' players playing in front of him.

Clearly, it worked.

It's also worth noting how strong Hildeby was in relief. He stopped 20 of 21 shots, including a game-saver in the dying moments of Thursday's game.

Hildeby has appeared in 15 games this season. Ten of them were starts, the other five were him coming into the net mid-game. Time and time again, he's stood tall in Toronto's net, and his performance on Thursday was no different.

The 24-year-old kept the Maple Leafs in the game. Because of that, he deserves to start in the net for Toronto on Saturday against the New York Islanders.

Philippe Myers' struggles continue

Brandon Carlo's return couldn't come sooner for the Maple Leafs.

After another injury to Chris Tanev, Philippe Myers was thrust back into the lineup alongside Morgan Rielly. He played 17:24 in Toronto's 4-0 win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, but played just 8:41 against the Jets, the lowest among Maple Leafs on Thursday night.

The reason for the drop in ice time: Myers was on the ice for three goals against, two of which were mistakes on his part. On Winnipeg's third goal, the defenseman lost a puck battle to Jonathan Toews, which led to Alex Iafallo scoring 37 seconds after Matthews' first goal of the game.

A few minutes later, Mark Scheifele found the back of the net after Myers left him alone in front. Myers went with Matias Maccelli to defend Gabe Vilardi below the goal line, which allowed Scheifele to score on the final shot Woll would face in the game.

Don't get me wrong, there's been some good from Myers this season (and he was exceptional when called upon last season), but a lot of the time when Toronto is clearing the puck out of their net, he's on the ice.

Myers is a minus-eight through 21 games this season.

The Maple Leafs have Matt Benning in the press box, and they could use him on Saturday against the Islanders. However, Craig Berube revealed on Wednesday, following an optional practice, that Carlo could return on Saturday, exactly one month after he underwent foot surgery.

We should have a better idea of whether Carlo rejoins the lineup on Friday.

Other observations

- Stecher is having an incredible run as a Maple Leaf. Entering Thursday, he was averaging 20:01 of ice time, the fourth-most among Maple Leafs defensemen, and fifth among players on the team. Not only has he been defensively strong, but he also scored a massive game-tying goal in the third period against the Jets. A great waiver-wire pick up.

- Matias Maccelli ripped a shot past Comrie early in the third period to tie the game at four. It's a shot we haven't seen very much from Maccelli as a Maple Leaf. It was the sixth goal of the year. Matthew Knies and John Tavares also had assists on the goal, after playing just two shifts in the final 10 minutes of the second period.