In his first-ever game outdoors, Arizona native Auston Matthews scored a pair, including the overtime winner to help the Toronto Maple Leafs to their fifth straight win, a 5-4 triumph over the Detroit Red Wings in Sunday’s Centennial Classic at BMO Field.
The Leafs had a three-goal third period lead unravel before Matthews scored his 20th of the season in the extra frame.
Leo Komarov, Mitch Marner, and Connor Brown also scored in the win for Toronto (17-12-7), which last won five straight in Dec. 2014. Frederik Andersen turned aside 33 shots in victory.
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Anthony Mantha scored a pair for the Red Wings (16-16-5), and Jonathan Ericsson and Dylan Larkin also found the back of the net. Rookie Jared Coreau yielded five goals on 28 shots.
An abundance of sunshine on the ice surface at BMO forced Sunday’s action to start 30 minutes late, but once it got going it was the Leafs that carried the play.
Nazem Kadri got the first quality chance in the opening minute when he eluded Wings defenceman Brendan Smith, who was ultimately penalized for tripping. Toronto failed to score on their power play, but still mustered nine of the first 11 shots on goal, all of which were stopped by Coreau, a Perth, Ont. native who was making only his fourth NHL start.
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