TORONTO (AP) — Auston Matthews scored two late goals to complete a hat trick and Mitch Marner had the lone shootout goal in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 6-5 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night in their season opener.
After the Maple Leafs fought back from 2-0 and 5-3 deficits, Marner moved in on Jake Allen and fired upstairs on Toronto’s third attempt. Ilya Samsonov then stopped Kirby Dach at the other end to seal it.
Matthews scored the 300th, 301st and 302nd goals of his career for his eighth hat trick, William Nylander, with a goal and an assist, and Noah Gregor also scored in regulation for Toronto. Samsonov made 19 saves.
John Tavares had three assists for Toronto, while John Klingberg — in his first game with the Maple Leafs — chipped in with two.
Alex Newhook scored twice for Montreal. Cole Caufield, Jake Evans and Jesse Ylonen also scored, Allen stopped 37 shots, and Dach had two assists.
Matthews scored his second of the night with 4:32 left with Samsonov on the bench when he beat Allen from a tough angle. He tied it with 1:07 remaining to send Scotiabank Arena into a frenzy.
BRUINS 2, BLACKHAWKS 1
BOSTON (AP) — David Pastrnak broke a second-period tie and added an empty-netter to lift Boston past Chicago and spoil the first career NHL goal for Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard.
Trent Frederic also scored for Boston and reigning Vezina Trophy-winner Linus Ullmark made 20 saves as the Bruins won their season opener a year after setting NHL records for wins and points but then losing in the first round of the playoffs.
Matthew Poitras, the Bruins’ top rookie, assisted on Frederic’s goal for his first career NHL point.
Arvid Soderblom stopped 32 shots for the Blackhawks, who beat Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, with top draft pick Bedard getting an assist for his first point. The highly touted rookie scored about five minutes into the game on a wraparound that beat Ullmark and made it 1-0.
HURRICANES 5, SENATORS 3
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Defensemen Brady Skjei and Jaccob Slavin scored third-period goals to help Carolina beat Ottawa.
Michael Bunting scored in his first game with Carolina, and Teuvo Teravainen and Jordan Staal also scored. Frederik Andersen made 27 saves.
Mathieu Joseph had a first-period goal for the Senators, and Parker Kelly and Tim Stutzle teamed for a two-goal burst that tied it at 3 early in the third.
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