Auston Matthews’ reaction to Kane scoring is the best thing we’ve seen this season

It’s no secret that Patrick Kane and Auston Matthews are two of hockey’s most outstanding players. Matthews has taken the NHL by storm since his debut and Kane is absolutely filthy on the ice.

Last night, the two met on the ice and did not disappoint. Overall, the Toronto Maple Leafs were able to edge the Chicago Blackhawks 7-6 in overtime, but many fans are speaking of Kane’s and Matthews’ antics.

Down late in the third period, Patty Kane had the puck to the left of Garret Sparks. With the goalie pulled, Kane fired the puck on net, beating Sparks and tying the game.

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Matthews took matters into his own hands. Less than a minute later, the puck bounced to Matthews in the slot. He made no mistake, burying the goal and celebrating by putting his hand to his ear. The celebration certainly caught the eye of Kane.

Once again, the Blackhawks were trailing. With less than 30 seconds remaining in the game, Kane and the Hawks were itching for another game-tying goal. Patrick Kane was fed a pass and he fired it on net. It happened to beat Sparks once again.

Kane has had some classic celebrations in his career and the response to Matthews should be added to the list. Kane did the exact celebration Matthews did just seconds prior. It’s safe to say Kane was fired up after the tying goal.

Cameras caught Matthews after the Kane celebration and goal. Matthews had a grin on his face. Sometimes you gotta give credit where credit is due, and this was certainly one of those times.

The post-game interview confirmed that Auston had great respect for Kane.

When asked about the goal and celly, Matthews said “I just showed a little emotion…sometimes all you can do is laugh because he (Kane) is obviously a premier player in this league and somebody I look up to. One of my favorite players growing up.”

Kane took a different approach when asked about the celebration. “That’s entertainment right there. I wasn’t really happy when he did it. So it was nice to get a chance and do it back to him.” Kane said. He then showed respect for Matthews, Tavares, and Marner, saying “He had a really good game, Tavares had a big game, Marner had a big game.”

It would be awesome to see these two continuing to recreate each other’s celebrations moving forward.