Matthews hat trick helps Maple Leafs top Lightning in fifth straight win

TAMPA -- Auston Matthews scored a hat trick and had an assist for the Toronto Maple Leafs in their fifth straight win, 6-2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Monday.

Matthews' third goal was his 54th this season, tying Rick Vaive for Toronto's single-season record set in 1981-82.
"It's humbling, it means a lot, just to be in the same sentence as a guy like Rick Vaive and these other guys that have come before us," Matthews said. "They have just kind of represented what it means to be a Toronto Maple Leaf. It means a lot and it's extremely humbling."
Mitchell Marner had a goal and two assists, and Jack Campbell made 32 saves for the Maple Leafs (45-19-5), who have outscored opponents 30-14 during the streak. The win moved them two points ahead of the Lightning and Boston Bruins for second place in the Atlantic Division; the Bruins won 3-2 in overtime at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday.
"It's a big win for our team, we're in a battle for the standings," Campbell said. "They're a great team, so it's definitely nice to come in here and get two points. Now it's on to the next one (at the Florida Panthers on Tuesday)."

Nikita Kucherov and Jan Rutta scored for Tampa Bay (43-29-7), which was 4-0-1 in its previous five games. Steven Stamkos had two assists, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 33 saves.
"We didn't manage our game; we were way, way too easy to play against tonight," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "It was like a light practice for them. It's too bad. I thought we kind of turned a corner a bit, but clearly we haven't."
Pierre Engvall scored on Toronto's first shot at 1:59 of the first period on a breakaway for a 1-0 lead.
Kucherov tied it 1-1 at 6:24 with a snap shot off a face-off win.
"It comes down to work ethic right now," Tampa Bay forward Pat Maroon said. "Put the systems aside and go out and compete and have fun again. It seems like we're not having fun right now. We're overthinking it, maybe guys haven't gotten a point or scored in a while, just gripping the stick instead of keeping it simple right now."

Matthews gave the Maple Leafs a 2-1 lead at 1:46 of the second period with a snap shot from the right circle, but Rutta tied it 2-2 at 5:46 with a backhand from the slot.
Matthews scored again at 9:57 with a redirection from Marner to give Toronto a 3-2 lead, and Alex Kerfoot made it 4-2 at 12:25.
"This is a big game for us, obviously," Matthews said. "They're a really good team, they know how to win, so it was an important game for us this point of the season. All these points count and really matter. I think it's just a really complete game by everybody."
Matthews completed the hat trick at 7:08 of the third period with a shot from the low slot to make it 5-2, and Marner scored on a one-timer at 11:24 for the 6-2 final.
"Can't give a guy like him time and space the way we did," Cooper said. "You're leaving a 50-plus goal scorer all alone at the net and he's walking right down Broadway and nobody is touching him. That's on us."
NOTES: Matthews extended his point streak to 13 games (17 goals, seven assists). He is the fifth player in Maple Leafs history with at least four hat tricks in a season (Reg Noble, 1917-18; Babe Dye, 1922-23, 1924-25; Darryl Sittler, 1980-81; Vaive, 1983-84). ... Marner has 15 points (two goals, 13 assists) during a six-game multipoint streak and 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) during a 10-game point streak. ... Toronto forward William Nylander did not play because of an illness. ... Stamkos extended his point streak to seven games (five goals, six assists); Kucherov has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) during a five-game point streak. ... Rutta's goal was his first since Nov. 20 against the New Jersey Devils. … Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh participated in the morning skate but missed his sixth straight game because of an upper-body injury.