Matthews, Laughton, and the rest of the Maple Leafs embraced both sides of the atmosphere in Winnipeg on Saturday night.
A few Toronto Maple Leafs may have enjoyed their Saturday night in Winnipeg more than others.
The Maple Leafs came up huge with a come-from-behind win over the Winnipeg Jets, scoring two goals in the third period to tie the game at three, ultimately forcing overtime, and winning.
"I don't think we ever got down," said Auston Matthews, who had a goal (his 24th of the year) and assisted on the overtime-winner, scored by Max Domi.
Now, what Matthews says is true: they didn't get discouraged — and there's a reason for that.
Throughout the game, whenever Matthews touched the puck, you could hear booes raining down on him from Jets fans. The intensity of those fans voicing their displeasure was also evident on the TV screen.
The Maple Leafs played into it, though, while also having their own fans in the building.
It felt as though every time Matthews was heckled, his game grew. The 28-year-old didn't mind being booed. In fact, he embraced it.
"I mean, I think they're not booing for no reason," Matthews said after the win. "I kind of just take it as it is and just have fun with it because, I mean, a lot of times it's fun, especially when you're out on the right side of it like tonight."
What happened after the game, though, might've been the cherry on top for Maple Leafs fans. While yes, the win mattered in the end of it all (and Toronto continued to trend upward), what might've counted more was seeing Matthews and Scott Laughton taunting Jets fans.
After Domi slotted in the overtime winner, Toronto's players filtered onto the ice to celebrate. Before Laughton stepped onto the ice, he turned to the (presumingly Jets) fans behind him on the bench and acted out a crying gesture.
It appeared to be loved by Maple Leafs fans online.
"I was pretty fired up at the end of the game just with that penalty (Matthew Knies high stick on Gabriel Vilardi)," Laughton said on Monday morning.
"And then I caught it out of the corner of my eye. (The fan) was kind of giving it to me, so I was hoping for a nice overtime winner there so I could get him back. I stayed in that spot, made sure I was in a good position."
In the same moment (after Domi scored), Matthews also celebrated towards Jets fans along the glass before embracing Domi. And even after that, Toronto's captain continued the taunting.
As he exited the ice at the Canada Life Centre, Matthews held his finger up to his ear, pointing out to Jets fans that he can hear them, and that he's welcoming it.
"(The atmosphere is) always good. There's a great rivalry, I guess," added Matthews on Saturday night. "I mean, these teams only play each other twice a year, but (have) a lot of pride in their respective cities, so it's always fun."