Matthews' Teammates Comment On His Opening Night Heroics

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Tom Banks
October 12, 2023 (9:48)

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The Toronto Maple Leafs looked dead and gone when they fell 3-0 to the Montreal Canadiens in their home opener, but as we've seen before, Auston Matthews made it his personal mission to draw them back into the fight.

A major comeback

He did exactly that as well, scoring three goals and helping the team to a dramatic 6-5 win in the shootout, and after dealing with injuries last season, it appears he's healthy and ready to star in 2023-24.

While they got plenty of help elsewhere, Matthews' teammates certainly recognized how good he was in the opening game of the year, especially his captain John Tavares.

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.

Monster season incoming?

This team still has plenty of question marks, including in net and on their blue line, but we know this team will go as far as their superstars will take them, and if night one is any indication, 2023-24 could be a big one.

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.

On top of that, goalie Ilya Samsonov, who wasn't at his best inthis one was full of praise for #34, and it's safe to say that this team is ready to watch Matthews go on a historic tear once more.

Whoa. Great. Three goals. Big, big, big confidence for him.

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