Alex Steeves scored his first NHL goal as the Toronto Maple Leafs jumped out to an early lead and beat the Carolina Hurricanes 6-3 Saturday night. Pontus Holmberg had two goals and an assist, John Tavares had a goal and an assist and David Kampf and Auston Matthews also scored for Toronto.
Jack Eichel is not the most well-known American in hockey. He's not even the most famous center from his country, thanks to captain Auston Matthews and
Matthews (upper body) picked up two assists in a 3-2 overtime loss to Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game on Thursday. Coach Mike Sullivan shifted Matthews to a line with Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk,
Matthews (upper body) is expected to play in Thursday's 4 Nations Face-Off matchup versus Canada, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Matthews sat out Monday's 2-1 loss to Sweden but will return to a top-six role and a spot on the first power-play unit versus Canada on Thursday.
McAvoy and Tkachuk did not participate in morning skate for Team USA, which already secured a spot in Thursday's TD Garden final vs. Canada, but Matthews was scratched close to puck drop. Brady Tkachuk was then lost for the night after a first-period collision.
Maple Leafs and Team USA captain Auston Matthews admitted that the sting of the loss to Team Canada is still lingering with him.
Dose.ca (English) on MSN16h
Auston Matthews snaps at a reporter
Auston Matthews’ leadership is often questioned. As captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but also more recently as captain of Team USA, which lost in the final against Canada, even though the Americans were favorites to win the game.
Matthews, who is also captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, finished the game with two assists, four shots on goal and three blocks in 20:47 of ice time.
As the NHL season resumed on Saturday, it was merely two days since the United States fell to Canada 3-2 in overtime of the 4 Nations Face-Off championship.