Auston Matthews is having a season for the ages, and against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night, Matthews scored his NHL-leading 53rd goal. The Maple Leafs topped the Coyotes 4-2 to send Arizona to their 14th straight loss.
Overall, it was a perfect night for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ryan Reaves had his first fight since the second game of the season, as he took down tough guy Liam O’Brian in a heavyweight tilt.
Matthew Knees scored his 11th of the season and also added an assist. Tyler Bertuzzi also scored, and William Nylander scored an empty-netter to go with two assists.
It was important for Toronto to get back to winning ways after having their seven-game winning streak stopped by the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.
Auston Matthews has scored his fair share of goals against the Arizona Coyotes over the years, but it was the first goal for Matthew Knies versus his hometown team.
“Crazy, unreal,” Knies said postgame. “It means a lot, I grew up watching this team. A pretty cool moment.”
But when Auston Matthews was asked about how ”significant” it is for both him and Knies to score on their hometown team, Matthews hilariously responded both sassy and sarcastic.
“Super-significant,” he said, which had the media crew laughing.
