Tuesday, March 8, 2022 07:30 PM (ET)

Leafs ride Auston Matthews' hat trick to win over Kraken

Field Level Media
Mar 8, 2022

Auston Matthews scored three goals to raise his league-leading total to 43 as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the visiting Seattle Kraken 6-4 Tuesday night.

The Kraken had overcome a 3-1 deficit to take a 4-3 lead on a third-period goal by Jaden Schwartz.

Matthews and teammate Mitchell Marner then scored 40 seconds apart. Matthews added an empty-net goal for his sixth career hat trick.

William Nylander, John Tavares and Marner each had a goal and an assist for the Maple Leafs. TJ Brodie and Michael Bunting added two assists apiece.

Jack Campbell made 26 saves for Toronto, which won for the fifth time in seven games.

Colin Blackwell had a goal and an assist for the Kraken, and Carson Soucy and Alex Wennberg also scored. Philipp Grubauer stopped 26 shots for Seattle, which fell to 0-3-0 on a five-game road trip.

Toronto led 2-1 after the first period.

Matthews scored from the left circle on a cross-ice pass from Nylander on a power play at 3:18. Joonas Donskoi was off for tripping.

Good forechecking led to Soucy's seventh goal of the season, a shot from the right circle on his own rebound, tying the game 1-1 at 5:21.

Tavares scored his 19th of the season at 9:55 from the low slot after a pass from Pierre Engvall. Brodie started the rush with a long saucer pass.

Nylander shot from the right circle for his 22nd goal at 5:14 of the second period on a power play, putting Toronto up 3-1. Mark Giordano was serving a delay-of-game penalty.

Wennberg scored his seventh goal from the slot at 9:20 of the second, completing a give-and-go with Marcus Johansson.

Seattle tied the game with a short-handed goal at 11:49 of the second. Blackwell finished a two-on-one rush with Yanni Gourde for his eighth goal of the season.

Schwartz scored his seventh of the season when he tipped Jeremy Lauzon's shot at 5:57 of the third period to put the Kraken on top.

Matthews tied the game on a backhand on a pass from Bunting at 9:03. Marner scored his 23rd at 9:43 on a power play with Soucy off for crosschecking.

Matthews scored into an empty net at 19:18.

Seattle signed forward Jared McCann to a five-year, $25 million contract extension on Tuesday.

--Field Level Media

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