Auston Matthews Back-To-Back Hat Tricks Again?
Auston Matthews became the fifth player to open the season with back-to-back hat tricks. The only players to accomplish this feat in the last 100 years were Alex Ovechkin in 2017-18 and now Auston Matthews.
But this was not the only time Matthews would score back-to-back hat tricks this year. The next set would come in early February at the end of a three-game homestand against the Philadelphia Flyers and the Anaheim Ducks.
In the game against the Flyers, Matthews took over the second period, scoring the only three goals of the period, scoring three in just seven minutes. The Maple Leafs would need all three goals as they blew the 3-1 lead Matthews gave them in the second period.
The Leafs would go on to win this game 4-3 in overtime thanks to a William Nylander game-winner, but they would have had no chance in this game without Matthews taking over the second period.
Matthews would score another hat-trick two days later as the Maple Leafs blew out the Anaheim Ducks 9-2.
What was most memorable about these moments was that Matthews barely celebrated any of those goals.
He was already so accustomed to putting the puck in the back of the net this season that he no longer felt the need to celly. That is when you know a player is on a completely different level than his competition.