Auston Matthews delivered his third hat trick of the season, bringing his NHL-leading goal total to 43, as the Toronto Maple Leafs surged to a 6-4 win over the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday night.
Mitch Marner scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period, while William Nylander and John Tavares each contributed a goal and an assist for Toronto. Jack Campbell made 26 saves for the Leafs, receiving two assists each from T.J. Brodie and Michael Bunting. Marner added an assist and extended his point streak to eight games.
Colin Blackwell had a goal and an assist for Seattle, with Carson Soucy, Alex Wennberg, and Jaden Schwartz also finding the net. Philipp Grubauer stopped 25 shots for the Kraken, who dropped to 1-9-1 in their last 11 games.
Seattle tied the game 3-3 with two goals in the second period before Schwartz tipped in his seventh of the season at 5:57 of the third. The Maple Leafs, who have allowed four or more goals in eight of their last 10 games, quickly responded.
Matthews tied the game again at 9:03 after taking a pass from Bunting, who had been denied by Grubauer moments earlier. After a Tavares faceoff win, Toronto then capitalized on a power play as Marner patiently found the net with his 22nd goal, sneaking the puck between Grubauer’s pads just 40 seconds later.
Matthews completed his hat trick and sealed the victory with an empty-net goal with 41.8 seconds left in regulation after Grubauer had been pulled for an extra attacker.
Coming off a 5-4 road win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday and playing their third game in four nights, the Maple Leafs struck first at 3:18 of the opening period when Matthews scored his 41st goal on a power play. Toronto’s top-ranked unit connected for just the second time in 10 games.
Seattle equalized at 5:21 when Soucy netted his seventh goal, but Toronto responded at 9:55 when Tavares scored his 19th after a pass from Brodie and a quick feed from Pierre Engvall.
The Leafs extended their lead to 3-1 on another power play at 5:14 of the second period when Nylander scored his 22nd goal, slipping the puck through Grubauer’s pads.
Seattle pulled within one at 9:20 when Wennberg finished a slick give-and-go on a 2-on-1 break with Marcus Johansson, marking his seventh goal of the season.
The Kraken tied it up 2:29 later, taking advantage of a Nylander turnover at the offensive blue line during a Toronto power play. Seattle countered with a 3-on-1, and Blackwell finished off a pass from Yanni Gourde for his eighth goal of the season.
Game Notes
Toronto winger Wayne Simmonds was honored on Saturday before the game for reaching the milestone of 1,000 regular-season games in his career. … Leafs winger Ondrej Kase (upper-body injury) returned to the lineup after missing four straight games. … Jared McCann signed a five-year, $25 million contract extension with the Kraken on Tuesday. … Seattle head coach Dave Hakstol previously served as an assistant coach with Toronto in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
UP NEXT
- Seattle: At Ottawa Senators on Thursday in the fourth game of a five-game trip.
- Toronto: Host Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.
