The Toronto Maple Leafs continue their impressive form in the 2024-25 NHL season with a hard-earned 6-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena. William Nylander scored the game-winning goal one minute into overtime, and delivered a clear message to his teammates, included captain Auston Matthews, after the game.
The Leafs are head to head with the Florida Panthers for the first place in the Atlantic Division, with neither side losing a step over their counterpart. However, thanks to the triumph in The City of Bridges, Toronto is now in first place.
It wasn’t the best showing for the Maple Leafs, but it made for an entertaining matchup for neutral fans, as both Toronto and Pittsburgh mounted comebacks and squandered leads. In the end, the game was decided in sudden-death overtime, where Nylander netted his second OT winner of the season.
After the win—Toronto’s fifth straight victory—Nylander sent a strong reminder to the locker room, ensuring Matthews and the rest of his teammates heard it loud and clear.
“Even though we’re not playing great, we’re still able to win the game,” Nylander admitted postgame, per NHL.com. “It’s the positive thing that you can take away from it. It’s good to win those games.”
Berube chimes in
Toronto couldn’t hold on to an early 2-0 lead or a later 5-4 advantage. Matthew Knies scored with 0.1 seconds left in the second period, giving the team a huge boost heading into intermission. However, it was all for naught as the Penguins tied the game just 10 seconds into the final frame.
After the game, head coach Craig Berube gave an honest assessment, emphasizing the team’s effort and the importance of securing the two points.
“It’s not how we wanted to draw it up,” Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “We made a couple of mistakes and put ourselves in a little bit of a hole. But guys stayed with it, climbed out of it, found a way to get the win.”
Matthews’ chase for greatness
Auston Matthews has been on a tear recently for the Maple Leafs, boasting an eight-game point streak. The captain scored his 390th career goal, which put him ahead of Darryl Sittler (389) and in lone possession of second place in the Maple Leafs all-time scoring table.
Matthews is just 30 goals away from Mats Sundin’s franchise record (420 goals) and is on pace to shatter it with games to spare. Sundin set the mark after 981 games with Toronto, while Matthews has played only 607. Safe to say, unless a trade unexpectedly cuts his time in The Six short, Matthews will become the franchise’s all-time leading goal scorer.