If Thursday night was any indication of what Mitch Marner's return to Toronto might be like next week, then it's going to be a spicy homecoming.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were facing Marner (for the first time) and the Vegas Golden Knights. And even in his own building, the 28-year-old was getting booed by travelling Maple Leafs fans every time he touched the puck.

Not sure if I've ever seen that.

Marner, no doubt, was the story entering the evening. Unfortunately for Maple Leafs fans, he was also a part of the story in the end, as Vegas defeated Toronto 6-5 in overtime. Marner finished the game with two assists.

The Maple Leafs had a two-goal lead four times on Thursday, but the Golden Knights continued to push, scoring three goals in the third period, including one with seven seconds left, to force overtime.

Jack Eichel deked out Joseph Woll (who finished the game, stopping 27 of 33 shots), allowing Toronto only one point from the game. Below are a few takeaways from the game.

Morgan Rielly was the first to get the Maple Leafs on the board against the Golden Knights.

William Nylander did what he does best on the goal: protecting the puck before making a great pass, eventually leading to a goal. Nylander fought off Keegan Kolesar before patiently locating Rielly walking in from the blue line.

The defenseman rifled a shot by Adin Hill for his sixth goal of the year.

Rielly was, however, on the ice for Kolesar's goal early in the second period. Despite boxing the Vegas forward out, Rielly didn't track the puck, and Kolesar was able to get a stick on it to put it by Joseph Woll.

Rielly did make up for it, though.

Later in the period, Rielly made a great defensive play on a 2-on-1 while Toronto was on the man advantage. Moments later, John Tavares tipped in a shot from Matias Maccelli for his 17th of the season, and first power play goal since Nov. 8.

(Tavares got the bump to Toronto's top unit after Nylander — who also scored in the first period — left the game due to a lower-body injury.)

One thing you could question was Rielly's decision-making in overtime. With two forwards deep, the defenseman elected to shoot rather than hold onto the puck. Vegas came the other way, and despite Rielly making a strong defensive play on the 2-on-1, Eichel was still able to score and win it for the Golden Knights.

All Maccelli could do was laugh after Tavares tipped his shot — already on its way to the net — into the goal.

Part of the reason why Maccelli could smile was because of the recent stretch he's had with the Maple Leafs. It was a difficult start for the 25-year-old at the beginning of the season, only tallying nine points in his first 22 games.

After multiple healthy scratches, Maccelli returned to the lineup and hasn't looked back.

Entering Thursday, the forward had three goals and eight points in his last 13 games. While Maccelli has seen an uptick in production, what has stood out most is his confidence with the puck.

One example of that came on Nylander's goal: Maccelli decided to hold on to the puck and pull it to his backhand as he entered the Golden Knights' zone before saucing it to Nylander with ease.

It's an elite pass.

As Maccelli continues to get an opportunity in Toronto's top six and the team's number-one power play unit, there should only be positives. He was brought in to help make up for the loss in points after losing Marner.

It was a bump ride in the early going, but it appears Maccelli is finding his game.

You can also tell head coach Craig Berube has trust in the forward, as he was among the second group of players on the ice for Toronto in overtime.

I officially declared Matthews back two games ago after he whipped his Matthews-esque shot past Colorado Avalanche goaltender Trent Miner.

Another telling sign Matthews has returned: he aura-farmed in his goal celebration, staring down the Avalanche crowd as he skated by.

That's a confident hockey player.

He's also scoring his goals in different ways, whether it be his patented wrister, a one-timer, or the odd tip, which he pulls off with brilliance. Matthews executed another perfect tip against the Golden Knights.

Matthews deflected Jake McCabe's shot-pass through his own legs and past Adin Hill for his 23rd goal of the year, and eighth goal in as many games.

Don't get me wrong, it was a great deflection. But what was even more impressive was how he shrugged off Shea Theodore before getting to the net for the tip. It's something that often goes unnoticed, and I thought it did again on Thursday night.

When speaking to several Maple Leafs ahead of Matthews breaking Toronto's goal-scoring record, many discussed the forward's strength on and off the puck.

"Since we've been young, playing against him, he's been one of the stronger guys. Whether it be on the puck, just maintaining it, getting it away from him has been very hard," said Brandon Carlo.

"Just his strength with that puck. It's very hard to knock him off of it. If he wants to control it, he's going to control it. If he wants to move it, he's going to move it. So those are players that are very special. He's definitely up there amongst the top on the hardest to play against."

- Scott Laughton continues to score big goals for the Maple Leafs. The 31-year-old scored Toronto's fifth goal of the game to put them up 5-3 almost midway through the third period. Had Vegas not tied it, Laughton's sixth goal of the year would've been the game-winner.

- Matthew Knies had a quiet but productive night against the Golden Knights. He assisted on Tavares' power play goal as well as Laughton's third-period marker. Knies also had the third-highest ice time among Toronto forwards (20:07) despite missing the morning skate due to maintenance.

- Nylander left during the first period with a lower-body injury. Berube said the forward re-aggravated his previous ailment, which forced him to miss six consecutive games, from Dec. 27 to Jan. 10. Berube is unsure of how long Nylander will be out and how the re-aggravation happened.

- Marner spoke with TSN's Mark Masters following the overtime win and didn't seem at all phased by the boo's from Toronto's travelling fans. "They've got a passionate fan base," he told Masters. It'll be fascinating to see how he's welcomed into Scotiabank Arena one week from now.