'Animal on the ice': Auston Matthews’ game-saving opener hints at bounce back

TORONTO — Had Auston Matthews not been in pursuit, there would be no happiness on opening night.

The Toronto Maple Leafs' game-breaking, extension-signing, new-goal-song-triggering superstar threw the club on his back late and rescued the city from two days of talk-radio criticism with a three-goal effort.

"I know he had a hatty tonight, but it wasn't even his best opening night," captain John Tavares smiled. "So, it's commonplace for him, but certainly I think he's just excited to lead the way and be great and be driven and get to where we want to get to."

If the Leafs' hair-raising roller-coaster 6-5 shootout victory over the scrappy outmatched Montreal Canadiens reinforced concerns over the club's work-in-progress defence corps and its inexpensive goaltending (it did), the performance also served as a statement for Matthews, man on a mission.

Lost in Leafland's shiny-new-toy training camp narratives of GM Brad Treliving's great grit injection (Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, Ryan Reaves), the adventures of power-play quarterback John Klingberg, and the feel-good youth movement (Fraser Minten, Easton Cowan, Matthew Knies) is Matthews' need and desire for a bounce-back.

(True, a 40-goal campaign is a decent "off" year. Also true, it's a 50 per cent decline in production from 60 goals and three major trophy wins.)

Those around the 2022 Hart Trophy winner will tell you how important it was for Matthews to take care of his contract extension well in advance of camp's opening — not only for his own focus on this winter's task at hand but to signal to his teammates that the window will remain open.

Follow my lead. Hop aboard.

"Every year he's been here, he's improved on stuff over the course of the summer," Morgan Rielly says. "He's extremely focused. Each year he comes back, and he looks a little better, a little faster.

"With him, this year, it's obvious that he spent some time, and he looks like he's ready to go."

You see it in Matthews' puck pursuit, his attention to detail in the defensive zone, and his quick embrace of a penalty-killing role — the one on-ice situation that has eluded him throughout his hockey life.

Matthews says he's "been having a blast" defending 4-on-5.

But on a night like this — when he rips eight shots on net, hits the back of it thrice, and saves his team two points and a coach's tongue-lashing with a game-tying goal with (checks notes) 67 seconds remaining on the clock — we are reminded what's possible when the man sporting the gold-linked PAPI neck chain leans into his shine.

"Whoa. Great. Three goals. Big, big, big confidence for him," says goalie Ilya Samsonov, particularly grateful post-game.

The wrist/hand injury that nagged Matthews in 2022-23 and had the two-time Rocket Richard champ waiting until Game 10 before his third goal feels like a distant memory.

Feel good, look good.

Matthews notched career goals 300, 301 and 302 Wednesday, treating Scotiabank Arena to repeat spins of Kid Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness (Steve Aoki Remix)," and becoming the fastest Maple Leaf and American to reach those totals.

At his height, he remains an enigma to goaltenders because he can beat you in different ways.

"With Auston, you don't really realize how big he is," new Leaf and former Shark Noah Gregor says. "And to be the player he is at his size is pretty incredible to see. His hands are like Patrick Kane's, but he's 6-foot-3, 215 [pounds], so it's pretty exceptional watch.

"I watched quite a bit of Leafs games, even though I was on the West Coast there. It's just an exciting team to watch. So I've seen quite a bit of him, but to see it in person is pretty cool, too."

Treliving keeps returning the word impressive to describe Matthews' approach to his business and his craft.

"He's as driven a guy as there is to be great," Treliving says. "I've had players come to me that are new to our team and the messaging has been the same: 'Wow, I didn't know how driven this guy was.'

"He talks about team success. Everything for him is about taking responsibility for wins and losses, driving the group forward. How can we better? He's special, and those players have an aura around them — and he certainly does."

The aura of Matthews is, in part, self-created.

He is polite and accessible, but not overly so. He's a smart 26-year-old who doesn't suffer fools.

Matthews has long been loath to make his personal goals public or reach to make headlines.

He'd rather let his play do the serious talking and curated appearances (slamming home runs at Blue Jays batting practice, goofing around at Sobeys or Tim Hortons) remind fans that, yes, he has a fun side.

"There's a number of things that when you go into a season you kind of have in the back of your mind that you'd like to improve on, focus on, stuff like that, but I prefer to keep that stuff personal," Matthews says.

"Individually, I want to be the best player that I can be. I don't try to focus too much externally. And for me, it's all about this team. It's all about winning and being the best teammate, leader and person, player I can be — day in and day out."

For a team built like the Maple Leafs, Auston Matthews' individual success and the team's collective hopes simply go hand in hand.

And on opening night, 34's shooting hands looked just fine.

"Same guy as always. Calm, cool, collected, and just an animal on the ice," Marner says.

"He has a tricky, cool way of scoring goals, and somehow it works. And we're lucky for it."

Fox's Fast Five

• Keefe singled out the play of his fourth line as the greatest positive from a sloppy 65 minutes.

Noah Gregor scored the Maple Leafs' season-opening goal one day after scoring an NHL contract via tryout.

And Ryan Reaves announced his arrival with a pursuit of scrappiness. The heavyweight pointed to a flexed biceps during his pre-anthem introduction...

..and then waited all of 10 minutes and 20 seconds before dropping the gloves with 6-foot-4, 240-pound Arber Xhekaj:

Something tells me there will be a rematch.

• Mitch Marner scored the shootout winner on a clean pop high-glove. As the Leafs' final shooter, he adjusted his strategy based on what he saw from the earlier shooters.

"It's not the prettiest of ice out there in Scotiabank, especially that late in the game," Marner explained.

"You kind of see [Nick] Suzuki there bobble his one, and you're just thinking that the ice is not very good to make a deke. Other than Willy [who also missed] and him, everyone else shot a puck. So, from my point of view there, it's just trying to look and see what my options were and try to place it perfectly."

• Max Domi quips that Marner picked sweater No. 16 to honour his favourite player. Domi, of course, wore 16 as Marner's teammate with the OHL's London Knights.

When Sam Lafferty got traded to Vancouver towards camp's end, Tie Domi's No. 28 became free.

Mark Giordano, a rare Leaf old enough to remember the '90s glory days, suggested Max make all those DOMI 28 replica sweaters relevant again.

"No, no, absolutely not," Max said. "That's my old man's number."

Max had previously sported No. 13 as well, but that has been retired by family friend Mats Sundin.

He has opted for 11 — a number the 5-foot-10 winger had never worn previously.

"My little cousin picked it, actually," Domi smiles. "They say it makes you look a little taller too."

• Sorely missed: wild, unpredictable hockey. Not missed one iota: prolonged off-side video reviews.

• The first goal of No. 88 William Nylander's contract year — a one-timed power-play blast — was clocked at 88.8 miles per hour.