Matthews scores 35, 36; Maple Leafs defeat Wild to end skid

TORONTO-- Auston Matthews broke a third-period tie with his second goal, and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Minnesota Wild 3-1 at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.

Matthews gave the Maple Leafs a 2-1 lead with 9:38 remaining. He stole the puck from Brandon Duhaime on the backcheck, leading to a 2-on-1 with Mitchell Marner, who passed to Matthews for a tap-in at the top of the crease. He leads the NHL with 36 goals.
"I just thought we stuck through with it for a full 60 minutes," Matthews said. "There wasn't a whole lot going on out there offensively for both teams, it was a pretty structured game. I thought Mrazek made some pretty incredible saves tonight when we had breakdowns and we capitalized on a couple chances. So it was nice to get back in the win column, we just want to keep this moving and going."
Petr Mrazek made 29 saves for the Maple Leafs (33-14-4), who had lost three in a row.
"I thought it was really solid and disciplined," Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. "I thought we were committed to it. It was a very low-event hockey game, not the most exciting game for sure. Our guys just stayed committed to it, trying to find ways to crack through offensively. Give Minnesota credit for how they competed and how they played, but we've been challenging our guys to be more committed defensively and more focused on it. So the fact we stayed disciplined in this type of game, where there wasn't a lot happening offensively, is really good for our team."

Frederick Gaudreau scored, and Kaapo Kahkonen made 22 saves for the Wild (31-15-3), who have lost four of five.
"One mistake or one special player, right?" Minnesota coach Dean Evason said. "I don't think it was a mistake as opposed to him making a special play. He's one of the best players in the world for a reason. We really liked our game, certainly. They didn't have a shot for 10 minutes in the first period. We did a lot of really good things, and it was just a matter of one break somehow and they got it."
The Wild took a 1-0 lead at 8:37 of the second period when Gaudreau one-timed a pass from Matt Boldy, who was behind the net.
Matthews tied it 1-1 27 seconds later when he carried the puck through the neutral zone and shot from the top of the left circle.
"Our team is playing a good team game, but when not a lot is happening, you need somebody to make a play and be a gamebreaker," Keefe said. "That first goal he scored, there's a small number of players in the league that can score a goal like that, and the second goal, it was completely earned, completely effort-based.
"He finds a way to come through with huge goals at big times in the game, and he's done that all season, and you see the commitment defensively."
Matthews has scored 41 game-winning goals since entering the NHL in 2016-17, one behind Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid for most since then.
"When it's 1-1 after (two periods) anyway, game on the road, it's a decent spot to be," Kahkonen said. "They obviously pushed and they have good players. But I think we had a good effort as well at the end there, but just didn't get a bounce tonight.
"Good players, him and Marner, but we've got good players too. What can you say? They're good players."

Alex Kerfoot scored an empty-net goal with 42 seconds left to make it 3-1.
"We didn't have a lot of energy," Evason said. "It was that type of game anyway, but it just didn't seem like our normal energy, and we're trying to figure out obviously why.
"It didn't look like we had that same jump we normally do. Our offensive zone, we didn't have a lot of sustained stuff down there. We didn't find pucks, get to pucks really quickly, so we'll try to figure it out."
Toronto did not have a shot on goal until 9:50 of the first period, when Kahkonen made a blocker save on Michael Bunting.
"I think we got the sense of it pretty early on," Matthews said. "I remember looking up at the shots on net and it was like 0-3 halfway through the first. When you play teams with really good structure, I think it's important not to get frustrated, stay patient because it's a long game. Just because you aren't getting chances in the first period doesn't mean you are not going to get them later in the game when you really wear their defense down."
NOTES: Matthews has scored 77 goals in his past 100 games. ... Maple Leafs forward Ilya Mikheyev (non-COVID-19 illness) did not play after the first period. ... Minnesota played its first game at Toronto since Oct. 15, 2019 (a 4-2 loss).