Maple Leafs vs. Predators: Auston Matthews Wins It Late in OT After Gavin McKenna's First NHL Goal

Fourteen seconds. That is how much of overtime was left when Auston Matthews pounced on a rebound at the bottom of the right circle and finished a comeback that looked like a long shot midway through the second period.

Matthews scored the winner and added three assists, No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna scored his first NHL goal, and the Toronto Maple Leafs erased a three-goal deficit to beat the Nashville Predators 5-4 in overtime on Tuesday night at Scotiabank Arena.

Stamkos Climbs the Ladder

For the first 23 minutes, this was Nashville's night, and Steven Stamkos set the tone. Morgan Rielly went off for tripping in the first period, Toronto failed on three chances to clear its zone, according to NHL.com, and Stamkos buried the rebound of a Matthew Wood shot at 7:13 for a power-play goal. It was the 626th of his career, breaking a tie with Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla and moving him into 17th on the NHL's all-time goals list, per the AP. Dave Andreychuk sits 16th with 640.

Nils Hoglander followed at 9:08, scooping up an Adam Wilsby shot that banked off the end boards and tucking it around the post with Anthony Stolarz out of position. He struck again 3:03 into the second, this time after Filip Forsberg took the puck to the net and left a loose rebound that Hoglander poked in from beside the crease. Three goals, no answer from Toronto.

The Kid Gets Involved

Toronto's pushback started with a teenager making a veteran's play. At 4:56 of the second, McKenna hit John Tavares in stride, and Tavares carried through the neutral zone and beat Juuse Saros over the blocker from the left dot. That gave McKenna his first NHL point, with Stolarz picking up the other assist.

Two minutes later, the Leafs went to work on a Jack Drury hooking minor. Saros made a right-pad save on Matthews, and William Nylander cleaned up the rebound from the slot at 6:58 to make it 3-2. Stamkos responded by ripping one over Stolarz's glove from the top of the right circle at 13:30, his second goal of the night, to restore a 4-2 lead.

That's when the No. 1 pick decided to stop being polite. Just 61 seconds after Stamkos scored, Matthews found McKenna from the right-wing wall, and the rookie fired a shot past Saros' blocker from the right circle. He had gone pointless in his first three games, per NHL.com.

"A big monkey off the back, that one felt good. That's a goal I'll obviously remember forever," McKenna said.

Coach Jim Hiller was just as impressed by the type of goal it was. "That goal was a goal-scorer's goal," he said. "We know he's a playmaker, by trade he's a playmaker, but that was a goal-scorer's goal."

The Turning Point

McKenna's goal is the hinge of the whole night. Stamkos had just reestablished a two-goal cushion, and Toronto was staring at a 4-2 deficit late in the second period. Instead, the rookie answered almost immediately and sent the Leafs to the room down one. Hiller noted that he "came up big in an important moment," and that is underselling it only slightly.

Matthews Takes Over

Matthews set up the equalizer at 8:54 of the third, springing Jack Roslovic alone in front, and Roslovic lifted a shot over Saros' glove. Nylander appeared to put Toronto ahead at 11:49, but Nashville challenged for offside and the goal came off the board.

Nylander said the belief was there all along. "I felt like in the locker room, I kind of felt like we were maybe going to come back," he said.

In overtime, Nylander's shot produced a rebound, and Matthews was waiting for it at 4:46. Game over.

"I thought the second half, we really just simplified our game and just decided not to lose battles, be first on pucks and outcompete the other team," Matthews said. Hiller went further. "I'm not even talking about the goal, just his game start to finish," he said.

Who Delivered

Auston Matthews: A goal, three assists and a plus-2 in 25:09. He had a hand in each of Toronto's last four goals, including the winner.

Gavin McKenna: A goal and an assist. At 18 years, 290 days, he is the youngest Maple Leaf to record his first point since Drake Berehowsky did it on Oct. 10, 1990, per NHL.com.

William Nylander: A goal and two assists, plus the shot that set up the winner.

John Tavares: A goal and a ridiculous 16 faceoff wins against one loss.

Steven Stamkos and Nils Hoglander: Two goals apiece for Nashville. Hoglander did his damage in 10:38 of ice time.

The goalies: Saros made 32 saves on 37 shots. Stolarz stopped 21 of 25 and even picked up an assist.

Stats That Matter

• 37-25: Toronto's edge in shots on goal.
• 34-19: The Leafs in the faceoff circle, a 64.2 percent clip.
• 4: Toronto games this season, all decided by one goal, per NHL.com.
• 100: Career game-opening goals for Stamkos, making him the third active player to reach that mark after Alex Ovechkin (154) and Sidney Crosby (127), per NHL.com.
• 900: Career points for Nashville's Ryan O'Reilly, who reached the mark with an assist, per NHL.com.

What It Means

Toronto evens its record at 2-2-0 and gets a feel-good win before heading out on the road. McKenna liked the timing, noting that "for it to be before a big road trip, that's even bigger." The Leafs visit Vegas on Thursday.

Nashville falls to 1-1-1 but leaves with a point. Coach Andrew Brunette liked parts of his team's game but not the puck management, and he acknowledged the arena's effect: "it just kept coming back in waves and when this building gets going, it can be a little intimidating." Stamkos was blunter about the penalties. "I don't know how many times we have to remind ourselves that taking penalties is a recipe to allow teams back in the game," he said. The Predators visit Montreal on Thursday.

Closing Take

Every superhero origin story has the scene where the kid realizes the powers are real. McKenna got his on Tuesday, and Matthews played the mentor who still saves the day in the final reel. For Nashville, the lesson is less cinematic. "(At) 3-0, that should be a game we close out if we want to be a playoff team," Stamkos said. Hard to argue.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Game details from the Associated Press; postgame quotes and notes as reported by NHL.com.