TORONTO — Ever loved a tune so much you play it back-to-back, repeating the first note the moment the last sounds?
That was Toronto Maple Leafs late Tuesday night, blasting their 2026 win anthem, Dexys Midnight Runners’ “Come On Eileen,” throughout the home dressing room twice before opening the doors to reporters.
Or: Once for every time they’ve beat their nemesis, the Florida Panthers, by a resounding 4-1 score this season.
“All the wins right now just mean a lot. You see how tight the standings are,” said Matthew Knies, who has built a long history with these Cats over his short career. “Every two points is a battle. It’s a war.
“The energy in this room, I think, is really good. I like how we’re approaching games. I like how we’re preparing for games.”
How the 2026 Maple Leafs readied for this grudge match — a team test interwoven with individual narratives — was to stress the importance of initiating aggression and winning tussles along the boards and at the net-front.
Strike early.
Exit quick and clean.
Don’t back down.
“You play Florida, I mean, you got to match the physicality. You got to match how they’re coming at you all night, right?” said coach Craig Berube, after guiding his guys to a seven-game point streak. “They’re going to put it in. They’re going to come at you. That’s the way they play. And I thought we did a real good job for two periods of exposing that at times and creating some odd-man rushes, breakaways a couple times.”
These wholly engaged Leafs, who hung blow for blow with the champs in a rare regular-season 52-hitter, are barely recognizable from the ones that fumbled and squandered their way to the Christmas break.
And there was plenty of inspiration to draw upon, as the Panthers’ first return to Toronto since Game 7 was preceded by a celebration for Auston Matthews and included a pitstop at the nearby Hockey Hall of Fame to drop off another gaudy championship ring and another headline-snatching morning skate chat from five-time eliminator Brad Marchand.
“I was a diehard Leafs fan, so didn’t like him too much,” rookie Easton Cowan said. “But cool playing against him tonight.”
Quadruply cool when contributions arise from all four lines.
“It always means a lot playing Florida,” Berube said. “Everybody had a part in it tonight, which is good.”
Scott Laughton and Steven Lorentz, who tied Matthews with a game-high four shots, were stellar on a 3-for-3 penalty kill.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have games like this circled,” Lorentz, an ex-Panther, admitted.
Shifty puck transporter Cowan, who opened the scoring, and Nick Robertson continue to thrive on an accidental third line centred by the steadily improving Nicolas Roy.
Second-liner Knies chipped in a pair of points, including the game-winning goal, in one of his better efforts of the season.
First-liner (for now) Max Domi picked a fight with Aaron Ekblad, upping the hate. And Matthews, the man of the moment, stayed hot by potting his sixth goal over his past three games.
“Forecheck was really good tonight. Goaltending was great,” Matthews said. “I mean, those are the kind of efforts that we need nights like this, against tough opponents like this.”
Sure, the Maple Leafs find themselves in a desperate position entering the second half of the season. Turns out, urgency looks good on them.
“It was a full team effort. Great game by us. I thought we matched their intensity from the start. And I think everyone contributed,” Knies said. “Top to bottom, I think it was an unbelievable effort out of us.”
A certified banger.
Now, press rewind and play that song again.
Fox’s Fast Five
• Mats Sundin flew across the Atlantic to pass the Maple Leafs goal-scoring torch to Matthews in-person.
“I was hoping I would hold my record a little bit longer,” the former captain said. “He’s way too good of a goal scorer.”
Sundin joined Scotiabank Arena in a pre-game standing ovation for his successor, then watched Matthews snipe goal No. 422 and snap his own record on a beautiful feed from Matthew Knies.
“It’s important when there’s history being made and records being broken,” Sundin said. “Being a Maple Leaf, it’s so special for me, and I think I can relate to where Auston Matthews is in his career at this point.
“It’s kind of anxiety trying to get it over with, because he’s got more important things to think about, winning hockey games for the Leafs. I wanted to be here for that.”
• Considering Joseph Woll had given up eight goals in one-and-a-half games’ worth of work, a case could’ve been made to grant backup Dennis Hildeby the start Tuesday.
While not overly taxed, Woll responded superbly, stopping 31 of 32 shots and stacking his seventh win over his past 10 starts.
• At morning skate, Marchand confirmed the worst-kept secret of free agency 2025.
“It was between Florida and Toronto of where I was going to go,” the two-time Cup champ told reporters.
Marchand, a noted troll, said he was serious last spring when he praised the Leafs for learning how to compete “the right way” and that he really didn’t believe GM Bill Zito would be able to re-sign him after taking care of Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad.
Unprompted, Marchand added: “It’s unfortunate the fans ran Marner out of town. That’s a huge impact for their group. He’s a point-a-game player. That hurts.”
• Sundin caught up with the injured William Nylander (fully sleeved) in the press box during the first intermission.
“Well, I played with and against his dad, and I’ve watched Willy since he was a kid, growing up and being an outstanding talent,” Sundin said with a grin.
“We all handle the pressure of being in Toronto in different ways. Willy is handling it his way. Obviously, a very skilled player, and really hoping that he’s going to keep evolving and developing as a player here with the Leafs.”
• Florida star Matthew Tkachuk is traveling with the team for the first time this season. He helped donate a ’25 championship ring to the Hall of Fame and has finally ditched the no-contact sweater.
“Just means you’ve got to keep your head up,” Marchand quipped. “He’s going to be looking for a hit in practice. It’s been a little while for him. I think he’s itching. It’s fun having him out there. He’s so energetic and mouthy.”
