TORONTO — Only one other hockey player in the past 106 years has accomplished what Auston Matthews did on Saturday in Toronto, and he’s the one hunting down the NHL’s all-time goals record.
Back-to-back hat tricks to start a season.
What a feat. What a night. What joy.
“It’s fun,” smiled Sheldon Keefe, whose very profession attempts to suck fun out of the sport.
Yet when your MVP gallops out of the gates healthy as a thoroughbred, aggressive as a Twitter troll, and snipes his way to a 246-goal pace in Week 1, it’s hard to not enjoy a front-row seat to the offensive eruption. (Even if October hockey is a brand unrefined.)
As the Toronto Maple Leafs converted the touchdown in a 7-4 romp over the visiting Minnesota Wild, a franchise known for its low-event outings and bruising defence, Scotiabank Arena’s faithful bucked their wallflower reputation and broke into round after raucous round of The Wave, 60 minutes of vengeance over the city that eliminated their beloved Blue Jays.
After saluting to a standing ovation, Matthews spotted a kid near the glass with a slick blue sequined vest. The boy was wearing a sombrero, holding a Mexican heritage sign, and wishing for a souvenir.
“I gave him the first-star stick,” Matthews says. “He had a nice little getup there and nice sign, so I’m glad I caught him.”
At this rate, albeit an unsustainable one, no one will catch Matthews.
“He’s feeling it,” Morgan Rielly says. “Whether it’s tips or the wraparound he had tonight or one-timers, shots from the flank, shots on the rush — he can do it all. It’s always been a massive strength.”
Indeed.
But Matthews’s all-around game has never appeared quite this fresh and fierce from jump, and, yes, that includes his four-goal debut.
“Beast mode” is how John Tavares puts it.
In addition to three beautiful, powerful goals, Matthews won most of his draws, registered a game-high four takeaways, blocked a shot, and threw three hits (only crash-and-banger Ryan Reaves threw more for the Leafs).
The engagement and impact levels are high with this one.
To think, the season Matthews scored 60 (2021-22), it took him a dozen games to score his sixth. He’s destroying his own pace.
“I would never question Auston’s motivation and work ethic and commitment,” Keefe said. “But I do think he’s come in refreshed and healthy, and he’s had a really good offseason.
“He’s focused on the big picture here. He’s looking to really drive our team. He knows his job is to score, but I really don’t think he cares how many goals he gets.”
Matthews became the first Maple Leaf to post consecutive hat tricks since Wendel Clark did so in 1994.
More impressive: Only four other players in NHL history have hung hatties in the first two games of the season: Alex Ovechkin (2017-18), Cy Denneny (1917-18), Joe Malone (1917-18), and Reg Noble (1917-18).
Since Matthews entered the league in 2016, he leads all goal scorers with 305. Ovechkin — generally regarded as goal-scoring’s GOAT — has 297 over that same span, despite playing in 26 more games and firing 214 more shots.
Moreover, the defensively determined Matthews is a career plus-112; Ovechkin is minus-12 since Matthews joined.
“I think the work ethic’s been there both games,” Matthews said. “I want to play at the highest level that I can every night, so I’m not really thinking in the past.”
Matthews’ historic heater will be the focal point, but the Maple Leafs’ offence has shot to No. 1 in the league with a bullet.
William Nylander is dazzling at a $10-million clip (wink), Rielly and Tavares are catching cookies, Marner is making dangerous moves, and newbie John Klingberg is driving offence from the back end.
New power-play coach Guy Boucher’s system has cashed in on four of seven opportunities, helping the recently acquired Tyler Bertuzzi get on the scoresheet Saturday. And the Leafs have struck twice in 6-on-5 situations, another Boucher assignment.
Even when the Leafs don’t score 5-on-4, they look fierce and have the opposition scrambling.
“It’s a mindset of attacking a little bit more,” says Nylander of Boucher’s tweaks. “Going to the net with the puck is a big thing.”
Adds Matthews: “I think we’re just kind of simplifying it, but in the right way. I think just attacking the net a little bit more and maybe not resetting the puck as much and just trying to attack seams, find the open space and get the puck to the net.”
The offensive aggression is paying off early, padding the big guns’ stats and boosting their confidence.
A happy by-product of these shooting stars is that the Maple Leafs’ deficiencies — 4.5 goals against Ilya Samsonov and the defence on average — have been relegated to footnote status. It’s early. There is plenty of time to refine for playoff-like hockey.
In the meantime, Matthews is feeling it. And watching all these goals is a blast.
Not a fun game for goalies.
Especially Minnesota goalies.
Fox’s Fast Five
• Asked both former Wild players Ryan Reaves and John Klingberg who on Minnesota’s roster surprised them during their time there. Their answer was identical: Matt Boldy.
“That Matt Boldy is a really good player. I didn’t know much about him when I came,” Reaves said. “When [Kirill] Kaprizov went down, he led the charge for that month. A young guy that obviously got paid accordingly for what he can do on the ice. Really good on his edges. Really good in the offensive zone.
“He can take games over.”
• Reaves, pre-game, to Minnesota reporters, on facing his former temmates: “Sometimes when you’re better friends with them, you want to lay them out a little more. Unfortunately for them, I became pretty good friends with all of them.”
Reaves, Period 1:
Matthews presented the Leafs’ player-of-the-game belt to Reaves post-game, then Reaves met Foligno in the hallway between dressing rooms to catch up and share some laughs.
Business never personal.
“Big hits, just kind of getting the momentum back on our side, and he’s not afraid to chuck ’em,” Matthews said of his new teammate. “It’s always awesome to see, and I imagine there’s gonna be a lot more of that throughout the season.”
• When Klingberg set up winking countryman Nylander for a one-timed power-play strike Wednesday, it turns out he was returning a favour.
Nylander had placed one on a platter for the defenceman during Team Sweden’s 2023 victory over rival Finland at the 2023 world championships:
• Fraser Minten had both his parents and his grandparents in the building for Toronto’s home opener Wednesday. Rookie Matthew Knies’ folks made the trip Saturday. But going to a Leafs game to witness your son’s big moments isn’t restricted to players.
The keen eye of Sam Irpak caught Brad’s father, Jim Treliving, on the glass to cheer on the GM’s first win in a new town:
“You never get tired of being proud of your kids,” Jim tweeted. “Lots of change this off-season. Now, excited for the entire Maple Leafs organization and fans. Go Leafs Go!”
• Your daily goal song report: Because of objections to the lyrics of Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit of Happiness,” the club won’t be using the Steve Aoki remix as its goal song. Alas, Nick Alberga reports, it was for one night only.
The line “Driving drunk, I’m doin’ my thang” did not go over well.
On Saturday, game ops blasted the upbeat, lyric-free(!) “Düp Düp” by Germany’s Mickie Krause when the home team lit the lamp:
The San Jose Sharks also gave “Düp Düp” a trial run as their goal song seven years ago.
