NHL

Nashville Predators at Toronto Maple Leafs

· National Hockey League
Final
2 - 3

Auston Matthews scores twice as Toronto downs Nashville 3-2

Auston Matthews nutmegs defender for sensational goal

William Nylander also scored for Toronto, which got 22 saves from Joseph Woll.

Mitch Marner chipped in three assists as the Leafs won for the 10th time in 12 games.

Jonathan Marchessault and Mark Jankowski scored for Nashville, which came in having lost three straight 3-2 overtime decisions. Juuse Saros stopped 25 shots for the Predators who have now lost five in a row.

Nashville opened the scoring in the first when Marchessault took advantage of a strange bounce before Matthews replied with goals 1:58 apart in the third to give him three in three games since returning from an upper-body injury that kept the captain out of the lineup nearly a month.

Marchessault joined Artemi Panarin and Mats Zuccarello as the third active undrafted player to record 500 points.

Takeaways Leafs: Marner was one of 17 players named as Canada rounded out its roster for the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off. Toronto defenseman Jani Hakanpaa was added to Finland’s squad.

Predators: Veteran center Gustav Nyquist was named to Sweden’s team for the February tournament in Montreal and Boston.

Key moment Matthews scored his second goal of the night on a sequence where he lost control of the puck after deking past Nyquist, but still fooled Saros for his eighth of the season.

Key stat The Predators entered Wednesday last in the league with an average of 2.32 goals per game despite making a big splash in free agency with the additions of Marchessault, Steven Stamkos and defenseman Brady Skjei.

Up next Nashville continues a three-game road trip Thursday night against the Montreal Canadiens. Toronto hosts the Washington Capitals on Friday night to wrap up a three-game homestand.

Regular Season Series

TOR leads series 1-0

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 5:26 Jonathan Marchessault Goal (5) Batted, assists: Roman Josi (16)
Goal 3rd Period 0:31 Auston Matthews Goal (7) Snap Shot, assists: Mitch Marner (25), Morgan Rielly (11)
Goal 3rd Period 2:29 Auston Matthews Goal (8) Backhand, assists: Mitch Marner (26)
Goal 3rd Period 5:06 William Nylander Goal (16) Wrist Shot, assists: Matthew Knies (6), Mitch Marner (27)
Goal 3rd Period 16:38 Mark Jankowski Goal (1) Backhand, assists: Alexandre Carrier (6), Cole Smith (3)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/nsh.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originNSH https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/tor.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTOR
13 Blocked Shots 18
15 Hits 32
3 Takeaways 2
24 Shots 28
0 Power Play Goals 1
2 Power Play Opportunities 3
0.0 Power Play Percentage 33.3
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
33 Faceoffs Won 23
58.9 Faceoff Win Percent 41.1
16 Giveaways 25
3 Total Penalties 2
6 Penalty Minutes 4
Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Maple Leafs Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Jani Hakanpaa, D Injured Reserve Feb 1
Nashville Predators Nashville Predators Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Jonathan Marchessault, RW Out Apr 1
Colton Sissons, C Out Mar 31

Game Information

Scotiabank Arena

Location: Toronto, ON
Attendance: 18,611 | Capacity:

2024-25 Central Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Winnipeg 51 19 106 4
Dallas 49 21 102 4
Colorado 45 26 94 4
Minnesota 41 28 88 6
St. Louis 40 28 87 7
Utah 33 29 78 12
Nashville 27 39 62 8
Chicago 21 44 51 9

2024-25 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Toronto 45 25 94 4
Tampa Bay 43 25 91 5
Florida 44 26 91 3
Ottawa 39 28 84 6
Montreal 34 30 77 9
Detroit 34 33 74 6
Boston 30 35 69 9
Buffalo 31 36 68 6
Full Standings