Toronto Maple Leafs captain and center Auston Matthews led the way in a thrilling comeback, helping Toronto rally from three goals down to beat the Winnipeg Jets 6-5 Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena. Matthews added an assist and scored his 14th career NHL hat trick, surpassing Darryl Sittler’s long-standing franchise record for most goals at home with 232.
Matthews also passed Pat LaFontaine (13) for the most hat tricks by a United States-born player in NHL history, now trailing Steven Stamkos (15), Davis Pastrnak (19), and Alex Ovechkin (33). Morover he also tied Charlie Conacher for the third-most hat tricks in franchise history, behind only Sittler (18) and Babe Dye (16), and hit his 17th career four-point game, matching Mitch Marner for the second-most in franchise history. Matthews entered the night with 15 goals and 27 points in 33 games and now sits at 18 goals and 31 points in 34 games.
The game featured a back-and-forth battle from the start. Gabriel Vilardi opened the scoring for Winnipeg at 14:09 of the first period, followed by Dylan DeMelo’s slap shot at 17:38 to give the Jets a 2-0 lead. Matthews responded early in the second period with a backhand redirection over Jets goalie Eric Comrie, cutting the deficit to 2-1. However, Winnipeg regained control as Alex Iafallo and Mark Scheifele extended their lead to 4-1, with Scheifele’s goal, his 19th of the season.
The Maple Leafs made a crucial change in goal, pulling Joseph Woll after he allowed four goals on 18 shots and turning to Dennis Hildeby, who stepped in to make 22 saves and help the team hold on for the win. Toronto came back from behind in the second period, with Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Matthews scoring just before intermission, making it 4-3. Matthews’ second goal came on the power play with just two seconds left in the second period.
The third period belonged to the Maple Leafs. Matias Maccelli tied the game at 4-4, but Scheifele struck on the power play to put the Jets back on top momentarily. Troy Stecher responded with a slap shot at 13:13 to make it 5-5. Matthews completed his hat trick at 15:38 after Comrie mishandled the puck, sliding it to the open center, giving Toronto a 6-5 lead that would hold. Hildeby held on for the win with a clutch save on Scheifele in the final seconds. With seconds to go, Hildeby made a big save on Scheifele to help the Maple Leafs hang on for the win.
The Maple Leafs’ record now stands at 19-15-6 after securing a second straight win. Next, they'll travel to face the New York Islanders on Saturday.
