National Hockey League
Toronto 7, Ottawa 3
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, February 18, 2021
Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario
Referees: Kevin Pollock, Graham Skilliter
Linesmen: Scott Cherrey, Bevan Mills
Attendance: N/A

Auston Matthews had two goals and two assists, Mitchell Marner had a goal and three assists, Joe Thornton had a goal and two assists and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the visiting Ottawa Senators 7-3 Thursday night.

William Nylander had a goal and an assist, Alexander Kerfoot had two assists and Ilya Mikheyev and John Tavares added goals for Toronto in the rubber match of a three-game series. Morgan Rielly contributed two assists.

Matthews, who matched his career-best with the four-point game, opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 10:29 on a shot from the right circle. Christian Wolanin was off for tripping.

Matthews has scored at least one point in each of his past 15 games, collecting 16 goals and six assists in that span. He missed time in the middle of that stretch, so his run is officially a 12-game streak, per NHL rules.

Tim Stutzle had a goal and assist for Ottawa while Connor Brown and Drake Batherson each added a goal.

Michael Hutchinson made 34 saves in his first start of the season in the Toronto goal.

The Maple Leafs led 3-1 after the first period.

Ottawa goaltender Marcus Hogberg, who allowed one goal on five shots, left with an apparent right-leg injury 12 minutes into the game. Matt Murray took over and made 20 saves.

Thornton scored his third goal of the season, deflecting Jake Muzzin's shot at 16:43.

Stutzle replied for Ottawa with his fifth goal, finishing a rush along the left wing with a shot from a sharp angle.

Matthews scored his 16th goal of the season at 19:37 on a spin-around from behind the net.

Toronto scored twice early in the second period to take a 5-1 lead. Mikheyev notched his second this season on a 44-foot wrist shot at 1:39. Marner scored his eighth from close range at 3:45.

Brown got his fourth goal this season from the right circle at 7:37 of the second after working a give-and-go with Matthew Peca.

Nylander restored the four-goal margin at 11:00 of the second on a power play with his fifth of the season on the rebound of Jason Spezza's shot. Erik Brannstrom was off for hooking.

Batherson scored his third goal at 11:11 of the third period. Tavares scored his sixth at 16:53.

Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot (upper-body injury) and Leafs left winger Zach Hyman (undisclosed) did not play Thursday.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Ottawa   Toronto
Tim Stutzle 2 Points Auston Matthews 4
Tim Stutzle 1 Goals Auston Matthews 2
Tim Stutzle 1 Assists Mitchell Marner 3
N/A Power Play Goals Auston Matthews 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Marcus Hogberg .800 Save Percentage Michael Hutchinson .919
Matt Murray 20 Saves Michael Hutchinson 34
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Ottawa 37 3 0-2 1-3 6 25
Toronto 31 7 2-3 2-2 4 29
Upcoming Games
  • Toronto will play their next game on the road against Montreal. The Maple Leafs have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .800 after a loss.
  • Ottawa will play their next game at home against Montreal. The Senators have a W/L % of .250 after a win and .143 after a loss.