Auston Matthews scored the game-winning goal at 4:46 of overtime and added three assists on Tuesday night, lifting the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 5-4 victory after erasing a three-goal deficit against the Nashville Predators at Scotiabank Arena.
A Rapid Nashville Surge Stuns the Toronto Arena
The visiting Predators established control early through production and special teams success. Steven Stamkos opened the scoring at 7:13 of the first period on a power play after Toronto failed to clear the zone on three separate penalty-kill opportunities. That milestone marker was the 626th career goal for Stamkos, moving him past Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla into 17th place on the NHL’s all-time scoring list.
Nashville doubled its advantage shortly after. Nils Hoglander collected a rebound off the end boards from Adam Wilsby’s shot and tucked it past goaltender Anthony Stolarz at 9:08. Hoglander struck again early in the second period, chipping in a rebound at 3:03 following a rush by Filip Forsberg to stake the Predators to a commanding 3-0 lead.
| Period | Scoring Summary / Key Events |
|---|---|
| 1st Period | Stamkos (PP) opens scoring at 7:13 (626th career goal); Hoglander extends lead to 2-0 at 9:08. |
| 2nd Period | Hoglander makes it 3-0 at 3:03; Tavares (4:56) and Nylander (6:58, PP) pull Toronto within one. Stamkos restores Nashville lead at 13:30; McKenna scores first NHL goal at 14:31. |
| 3rd Period | Roslovic ties game 4-4 at 8:54 bar-down on Saros; Nylander goal disallowed for offside via Nashville challenge. |
| Overtime | Matthews scores at 4:46 off a rebound after a chaotic sequence including a missed Toronto 3-0 rush. |
The Maple Leafs Respond and History Intersects
Toronto began its comeback in the middle frame. John Tavares sparked the offense at 4:56 off the rush, taking a pass from No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna and beating Juuse Saros over the blocker. William Nylander capitalized on a power play at 6:58, converting a rebound from the slot after Saros stopped an initial shot by Matthews.
Though Stamkos answered at 13:30 with his second goal of the night to restore a two-goal cushion for Nashville, Gavin McKenna answered just 61 seconds later. Taking a pass from Matthews, McKenna ripped his first career NHL goal upstairs on Saros at 14:31 before dropping to one knee in celebration. The convergence of Stamkos, Tavares, McKenna, and Matthews marked just the fourth time in NHL history that four different first-overall draft picks scored in the same game.
Overtime Drama Settles the Contest
Jack Roslovic leveled the score at 4-4 for Toronto at 8:54 of the third period, firing bar-down on Saros. Regulation closed with intense swings, including a disallowed goal for Toronto at 11:49 when Nashville successfully challenged Nylander’s marker for offside.
The extra session featured rapid end-to-end chances, featuring a missed 3-0 odd-man rush by the Maple Leafs before Matthews ultimately ended the contest. Matthews buried a rebound at 4:46 of overtime after Nylander drove the puck hard to the net, sealing a 5-4 victory for a Toronto squad that moved to 2-2-0 on the young campaign.
Following the loss, which dropped Nashville to 1-1-1, Stamkos expressed frustration over the missed opportunity to close out the game. Pretty disappointing,
Stamkos said. We played so good at the beginning, get a 3-0 lead, come out, start strong. I don’t know how many times we have to remind ourselves that taking penalties is a recipe to allow teams back in the game.
Both teams face quick turnarounds with road matchups on Thursday, as the Predators travel to face the Montreal Canadiens and the Maple Leafs visit the Vegas Golden Knights.
