TORONTO (AP) — Auston Matthews scored his 14th career hat trick and added an assist to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 6-5 comeback win over the struggling Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night.
Jets goaltender Eric Comrie failed to freeze the puck in front of his net and it rolled to a wide-open Matthews in front, who completed his hat trick and tied the deadlock at 5 with 4:22 left.
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Matthews also scored a power play goal with two seconds left in the second period to pull the Maple Leafs within 4–3.
Matthews came within one goal of breaking Mats Sundin's record of 420 goals.
It was Toronto's fifth win in its last six games.
Winnipeg squandered a 4-1 lead for their eighth straight loss. Mark Scheifele scored two goals and added another to lead the Jets.
After Scheifele gave his team a 5-4 lead on the power play, Troy Stecher's shot tied the game.
Toronto reserve Dennis Hildeby earned the win with 22 saves, replacing Joseph Wall early in the second period after he allowed four goals on 18 shots.
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The Maple Leafs were without William Nylander (lower body) for the third straight game. Dakota Joshua (kidneys) and Chris Tanev (lower body) were also absent.
With his second goal, Matthews set the franchise record for home goals with 232, surpassing 44-year-old Darryl Sittler's record. Matthews has three goals and six points in his last three games.
The Jets are 3-13-4 in their last 20 games.
Next
Jets: Visit the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night.
Leafs: Visit the New York Islanders on Saturday night.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
