The Toronto Maple Leafs picked up a much-needed win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night, largely thanks to the stellar performance of captain John Tavares. After the 5-2 win, Auston Matthews had some rave reviews for Tavares' performance, expressing his amazement over the second of Tavares' three goals in the game.

ā€œHe was on it,ā€ said Matthews via Mark Masters. ā€œ[The] second one was just special.ā€

Matthews wasn't the only one in awe over Tavares' second goal of the evening. Head coach Sheldon Keefe called the goal ā€œbig-time stuffā€ while Ilya Samsonov voiced his confidence in Tavares as the Maple Leafs' leader.

The reactions from his teammates and coach barely do the goal justice. Tavares' second of three goals on the evening was an absolute beauty as he sifted his way through the defense before beating the goaltender to give Toronto a 4-2 lead.

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After the Maple Leafs started the year on a 4-4-2 skid, Wednesday night's win was crucial, both towards getting them back in the win column and boosting team morale. Tavares took things into his own hands with his hat trick, and his teammates were left impressed by his dominant performance.

Auston Matthews himself added a goal in the contest and also logged an assist while taking eight shots, but it was Tavares' exploits that stole the show for Toronto and secured their fifth win of the season. Matthews is now up to four goals and 10 points through his first 11 games of the year. Tavares, on the other hand, leads the Maple Leafs with seven goals and 14 points.

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