VANCOUVER – Given a second chance Auston Matthews wasn’t going to miss.
Matthews and William Nylander, returning from injury, scored in a shootout as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 Saturday night to snap a six-game NHL losing streak.
Matthews had a chance to win the game with 1:54 remaining in the three-on-three overtime when he was awarded a penalty shot after Conor Garland was called for hooking.
Toronto called a timeout to allow Matthews to catch his breath, then the Leafs’ centre skated in from the right wing, cut through the crease and tried to score on a forehand but was stopped by Vancouver goaltender Nikita Tolopilo.
“I came down with an idea of what I wanted to do, and it didn’t work out,” Matthews said. “I thought there was some room there on that glove side.”
In the shootout, Vancouver’s Jake DeBrusk hit the post with the opening attempt.
Matthews was the first Toronto shooter. This time, instead of cutting across the ice, he deked, then flipped a backhand over Tolopilo’s glove.
“Luckily I got that second opportunity in the shootout,” Matthews said. “I didn’t want to make that mistake twice. I just stuck to it again and found that opening there.”
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After Elias Pettersson failed to score for Vancouver, Nylander put the game away, scoring on a backhand deke to the other side of Tolopilo.
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Nicolas Roy and Max Domi also scored for Toronto (25-21-9) who are eight points back of the Boston Bruins who hold the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Tom Willander scored for Vancouver (18-31-6). Tolopilo stopped 39 shots for Vancouver, which has two wins in the last 17 games.
Toronto goaltender Joseph Woll, who made 28 saves, said the game felt like a playoff match.
“From here on out, we need every game pretty badly,” said Woll. “It’s going to be a playoff mindset. That’s really important and I think we really showed it.”
It was a big win for the Leafs who opened their four-game western road swing with a 5-2 loss in Seattle on Thursday.
“This one feels good,” said Matthews, who also assisted on Domi’s tying goal at 2:32 of the third period. “We played well in Seattle and it didn’t come out our way.
“It was good that we stuck with it, continued to grind through everything. The energy was great in this room again and it was nice to come out with the win.”
Matthews has happy to see the return of Nylander, who missed seven games with a groin injury.
“He’s a big part of this team and plays a big part in what we’re trying to do,” said Matthews, who leads Toronto with 26 goals and 46 points.
Toronto coach Craig Berube said Nylander provided a spark on and off the ice.
“He was really good tonight (Saturday),” said Berube. “He skated extremely well, competed, created offence. Just hearing him on the bench talking, his leadership. I thought he elevated everybody on our team.”
The Leafs took control of the game in the third period when they outshot Vancouver 18-5.
“We talked before going in there (that) it had to be our best period of the year and for me it was pretty close,” said Berube. “We had the puck the whole period.”
Defenceman Morgan Rielly left the game in the second period with an upper-body injury. Berube said he would be evaluated Sunday.
The Leafs had plenty of fans among the crowd at Rogers Arena. There were huge cheers each time Toronto made a play and chats of “go Leafs go.”
Roy, who scored his first goal in 16 games, said it made for a great atmosphere.
“It’s different,” he said about the support on the road. “Not a lot of teams have this luxury. It’s fun to be part of for sure.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 1, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
