Auston Matthews scores 3 times to send Toronto Maple Leafs past Minnesota Wild 7-4
Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Tyler Bertuzzi (59) embraces teammate Morgan Rielly (44) after scoring during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild, in Toronto, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. It was Bertuzzi’s first goal as a Maple Leaf. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
TORONTO (AP) — Auston Matthews registered his second hat trick in two games to open the season, and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Minnesota Wild 7-4 on Saturday night.
William Nylander had two goals and an assist for Toronto, and Ilya Samsonov made 28 saves. Calle Jarnkrok had a goal and an assist, and Tyler Bertuzzi also scored. Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly each had two assists.
Matthews is the fifth player in NHL history to open a season with back-to-back hat tricks, joining Alex Ovechkin (2017-18), Cy Denneny (1917-18), Joe Malone (1917-18) and Reg Noble (1917-18).
Matt Boldy, Ryan Hartman, Marco Rossi and Brandon Duhaime scored for Minnesota. Filip Gustavsson stopped 26 shots.
CANADIENS 3, BLACKHAWKS 2
MONTREAL (AP) — Cole Caufield scored the first of Montreal’s three unanswered second-period goals, and the Canadiens beat Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks in their home opener.
Bedard, hockey’s most anticipated prospect since Connor McDavid, received a not-so-warm welcome from a Montreal crowd that booed the hockey phenom every time he touched the puck.
Tanner Pearson and Sean Monahan also scored for Montreal, which earned its first win of the season. Sam Montembeault made 28 saves.
Tyler Johnson scored twice for Chicago. Petr Mrazek stopped 33 shots.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 4, DUCKS 1
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jack Eichel had a goal and an assist, Adin Hill made 22 saves and defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas beat Anaheim to remain unbeaten.
Chandler Stephenson and Shea Theodore also had a goal and an assist, and Jonas Rondbjerg got his first goal of the season. The Golden Knights, playing their third game in five nights, improved to 3-0-0 with all the wins by identical scores.
Mason McTavish scored and John Gibson made 34 saves for Anaheim in its season opener.
Eichel scored his second of the season when he skated through and around Anaheim’s defense and fired the puck into a wide-open net for a power-play goal with 2 seconds left in the first period.
AVALANCHE 2, SHARKS 1, SO
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Cale Makar scored a late game-tying goal, and Colorado beat San Jose in a shootout to spoil a 51-save performance by Sharks goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood.
The Avalanche scored with just over a minute left in regulation on their 49th shot on net when Makar wristed one past Blackwood to tie the game at 1-1. After a scoreless overtime, Mikko Rantanen scored the lone goal in the shootout to secure the win.
The Sharks were outshot 16-9 in the first period, but took a 1-0 lead on Thomas Bordeleau’s first career goal.
JETS 6, PANTHERS 4
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Kyle Connor had two goals and an assist, and Winnipeg earned its first win of the season.
Mark Scheifele and Mason Appleton each had a goal and an assist for the Jets, who lost 5-3 at Calgary on Wednesday in their opener. Morgan Barron and defenseman Dylan DeMelo also scored.
Connor Hellebuyck made 29 saves for the Jets in the opener of a three-game homestand.
Evan Rodrigues had two goals and two assists for the Panthers, who dropped their second straight game to begin the season. Sam Reinhart had a goal and an assist, and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 29 shots.
BLUE JACKETS 5, RANGERS 3
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Boone Jenner had a natural hat trick and Columbus gave Pascal Vincent his first coaching victory.
Rookie David Jiricek and Justin Danforth also scored for Columbus, which opened with a 4-2 loss to Philadelphia on Thursday night. Johnny Gaudreau and Ivan Provorov each had two assists.
Elvis Merzlikins stopped 24 shots before departing with an illness after the second period. Spencer Martin came in for the last 20 minutes and stopped 15 shots in his Columbus debut.
Erik Gustafsson had a goal and an assist for the Rangers, and Will Cuylle and Chris Kreider also scored. Adam Fox had two assists and Igor Shesterkin made 16 stops.
RED WINGS 6, LIGHTNING 4
DETROIT (AP) — Alex DeBrincat had two goals and an assist in his home debut with Detroit, leading the Red Wings to the victory.
DeBrincat was acquired in a July trade with Ottawa. The Michigan native also scored in the Red Wings’ season-opening loss at New Jersey on Thursday.
Daniel Sprong, Lucas Raymond, J.T. Compher and Moritz Seider also scored for Detroit, and Dylan Larkin added two assists. Ville Husso made 23 saves.
Steven Stamkos had two goals and an assist for the Lightning, who beat Nashville 5-3 on Tuesday in their season opener. Victor Hedman had a goal and two assists, while Brandon Hagel contributed a goal and an assist. Jonas Johansson stopped 36 shots.
BLUES 2, KRAKEN 1, SO
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Robert Thomas scored and Jordan Binnington stopped all three shots in the shootout, lifting St. Louis to the victory in its home opener.
Jordan Kyrou scored in the second period for St. Louis. Binnington had 28 saves in regulation and two in overtime.
Jaden Schwartz scored in the second for Seattle. Joey Daccord stopped 23 shots in regulation.
ISLANDERS 3, SABRES 2
NEW YORK (AP) — Casey Cizikas snapped a tie in the third period, and the Islanders opened their season with a win over the Sabres.
Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist for New York. Kyle Palmieri also scored and Ilya Sorokin stopped 27 shots as the Islanders won their season opener at home for the first time since 1995.
Jordan Greenway and Casey Mittelstadt scored for the Sabres, who were coming off a 5-1 loss at home to the Rangers in their season opener on Thursday night. Devon Levi finished with 23 saves.
Cizikas broke a 2-2 tie with a nifty redirection off Adam Pelech’s shot from the point with 6:20 left.
CANUCKS 4, OILERS 3
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Nils Hoglander had a goal and an assist as Vancouver continued its early season dominance over Edmonton.
Andrei Kuzmenko, Jack Studnicka and Sam Lafferty also scored for the Canucks, who beat the same Oilers 8-1 in their season opener on Wednesday. Vancouver was winless in its first seven games last season.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and two assists, and Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid also had a goal and an assist for the Oilers.
HURRICANES 6, KINGS 5, SO
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jordan Martinook scored in the ninth round of the shootout, and Carolina blew a three-goal lead before hanging on for a victory over Los Angeles.
Sebastian Aho had a short-handed goal and an assist and scored again in the shootout for the Hurricanes, who opened a six-game road trip by wasting a three-goal lead midway through the second period.
Anze Kopitar scored his second goal to tie it with 1:22 left in regulation for the Kings, who trailed 5-2 midway through the second. Drew Doughty, Trevor Moore and Vladislav Gavrikov also scored for the Kings.
Teuvo Teravainen also scored a short-handed goal, and Brendan Lemieux, Brent Burns and Jesperi Kotkaniemi also had goals for the Hurricanes.
PENGUINS 5, FLAMES 2
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Evgeni Malkin had a goal and an assist during Pittsburgh’s five-goal third period.
Malkin tied Alexander Mogilny for third-most goals in NHL history among Russian-born players. Malkin, who scored his 473rd career goal, trails only Sergei Fedorov (483) and Alex Ovechkin (822) in goals scored among Russian-born players.
Bryan Rust scored twice, including an empty-netter, and Reilly Smith and Jake Guentzel also scored during Pittsburgh’s big third period. Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 34 shots.
Jonathan Huberdeau and Matt Coronato scored for Calgary in the opener of a five-game trip. It was Coronato’s first NHL goal.
Jacob Markstrom made 24 saves for the Flames.
BRUINS 3, PREDATORS 2
BOSTON (AP) — James van Riemsdyk broke a tie with his second goal of the game early in the third period, sending Boston to the win.
Both of van Riemsdyk’s goals — his first two in his initial season with the Bruins — happened on a power play.
Jeremy Swayman made 33 saves in his season debut for Boston (2-0), which killed seven penalties. David Pastrnak scored on a penalty shot.
Colton Sissons scored twice for the Predators (1-2) and Juuse Saros made 28 stops.
SENATORS 5, FLYERS 2
OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Brady Tkachuk and Jakob Chychrun each scored twice, leading the Senators to the victory.
Anton Forsberg made 19 saves for Ottawa, which earned its first win after losing 5-3 at Carolina in its season opener on Wednesday night. Jake Sanderson also scored.
Travis Konecny and Cam York scored for the Flyers. Carter Hart stopped 26 shots.
Philadelphia opened the season with a 4-2 win over Columbus on Thursday night, but it struggled to generate much against Ottawa.
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