Rasmus Sandin made a strong return to the NHL, but Auston Matthews stole the show with a hat trick as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the New Jersey Devils 7-4 on Tuesday night.
Sandin, a 19-year-old defenseman who recently starred for Sweden at the World Junior Hockey Championship, was recalled to fill in for injured defenseman Morgan Rielly. While Sandin assisted on two goals, Matthews delivered the scoring punch, ending his hat-trick drought that stretched back to his NHL debut in October 2016.
“I feel confident,” Sandin said after the game. “The group is really good and helps me in every way they can.”
Matthews, who had been stuck on two-goal games several times this season, finally broke through with his first hat trick in 257 regular-season games. “I mean, I figured I’d get one sometime,” Matthews said with a smile.
John Tavares added a goal and two assists for Toronto, while William Nylander, Zach Hyman, and Frederik Gauthier also contributed goals. Frederik Andersen made 24 saves for the Leafs, who snapped a three-game winless streak.
Matthews, who had come close to a hat trick multiple times this season, was finally rewarded, much to the amusement of his linemate Mitch Marner. “It’s pretty funny,” Marner said. “We’ve actually talked about it a couple of times … I’m sure that’s a big relief.”
Blake Coleman recorded his first career hat trick for New Jersey, and P.K. Subban added a goal. Louis Domingue allowed five goals on 19 shots before being replaced by Cory Schneider, who made 13 saves in relief. Will Butcher had three assists for the Devils.
“We didn’t start on time,” Coleman said. “We owe Louis a game. That was inexcusable.”
Toronto’s defense held up better than in recent games, though they still had some lapses, allowing New Jersey to make the score more respectable late in the game.
Sandin made an immediate impact, setting up Tavares for his 18th goal of the season just over five minutes into the game. The Leafs doubled their lead at 9:10 when Frederik Gauthier scored his sixth of the season after a scramble behind the Devils’ net.
Toronto continued their strong start, making it 3-0 in the final seconds of the first period when Hyman tipped in his 12th goal off another Sandin shot. Nylander extended the lead to 4-0 early in the second period with his 20th goal of the season.
Coleman got New Jersey on the board midway through the second, but Matthews responded with a power-play goal to make it 5-1. Matthews then added his second of the night early in the third period, finishing a pass from Marner.
Coleman completed his hat trick late in the game, and Subban added a 6-on-3 power-play goal, but Matthews sealed the win with an empty-netter, bringing his season total to 34 goals.
“Good bounce-back game,” Matthews said. “A little bit of a lull in the second period. Some stuff we’d like to clean up and do better. But, all in all, nice to get back in the win column.”
Game Notes:
- Rielly is expected to miss at least the next eight weeks due to a lower-body injury.
- Toronto’s Jake Muzzin, who broke his foot blocking a shot in New Jersey on Dec. 27, could resume skating on Wednesday.
- Sandin was named the best defenseman and a tournament all-star at the World Juniors.
- Jason Spezza played in his 1,100th NHL regular-season game.
- The Leafs also recalled defenseman and 2017 first-round pick Timothy Liljegren from the AHL.
