Newark. Auston Matthews immediately scored a hat-trick, William Nylander scored his first goal in blue and yellow this season, and John Klingberg had two assists in the new team’s first game.
All of that and more happened as Toronto twice came back from two-goal deficits to eventually win a shootout in the classic season opener against arch-rival Montreal.
“It was a really good feeling, both individually and for the team,” Klingberg told Sportbladet after the 6-5 win.
As great as hockey is, “El Clásico” is the meeting between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens – rivals for a century – and the first round of the year at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto last night truly lived up to expectations.
Twice again, the Canadiens — currently in the midst of a revamp and thus competing in contemporary battles against a powerful Leaf foe — took a two-goal lead and the Leafs came back twice again, eventually winning in a shootout.
Honoring Matthews
Large profiles were delivered, to say the least. For example, Auston Matthews started off by scoring his 300th career goal and eventually completed a hat-trick.
Right in the season premiere.
– He’s a really great player, says new teammate John Klingberg over the phone from Toronto after the cue.
– He doesn’t need much space, almost none, to create dangerous chances and score goals.
William Nylander also made a great start, scoring the first Swedish goal of the season and also providing an assist for Matthew’s late 5-5 lead.
-I think Willie is underappreciated. He’s a bit overshadowed by the other stars here, but he’s very important to the team with his skating and the way he carries the puck. “He’s really a driver in our game,” Berger continues.
Solid effort from Klingberg
Who made his Leafs debut — and did a good job. He assisted on two goals and looked like his old tough Dallas self, not least while serving on the blue line on the power play.
– Yes, I am satisfied. “It felt really good, both individually and for the team,” he says.
-I had a little injury a while ago, so I wasn’t able to play much during pre-season, and it’s good to come in and feel like it’s still working well. It’s different from last year, this is a really good environment, and I’m really excited.
