Maple Leafs dominate Golden Knights to pick up 6th-straight win

Max Domi had his first multi-goal game as a Maple Leaf as Toronto dominated the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights 7-3 to pick up their sixth-straight win on Thursday night.

The Maple Leafs had arguably their best first period of the season against Vegas, scoring four goals en route to an early 4-0 lead courtesy of Jake McCabe, David Kampf, John Tavares and Domi.

The Golden Knights would cut the lead to 4-1 in the second before Domi scored his second goal of the game and seventh of the year. Pontus Holmberg followed that up with a beauty of his own, making it 6-1 for Toronto.

While Vegas did respond with two quick third-period goals, the Maple Leafs would hang on to knock off the defending champions on their home ice. It’s the first time Toronto has beaten Vegas on the road since Jan. 11, 2022.

Mitch Marner added two assists on the night, while Auston Matthews scored his 52nd goal of the season. The only Leafs forward not to register a point was rookie Matthew Knies.

Matthews’ 260 even-strength goals are the most among all players since his debut in 2016-17 and 33 more than the next closest player (Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid with 227).

Goalie Martin Jones stopped 23 of 26 shots for the win. Jones started in game two of the back-to-back after Ilya Samsonov picked up the win on Wednesday against Arizona.

Defenceman Morgan Rielly made his return after serving his five-game suspension for a cross-check to Ottawa Senators’ centre Ridly Greig on Saturday, Feb. 10. He logged just over 19 minutes of ice time.

It’s Toronto’s longest win streak of the season, giving the Maple Leafs another two points as they look to make up ground in their division. The Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers lost on Thursday night despite the Bruins registering a point in overtime.

The Maple Leafs last won playing on a back-to-back on Jan. 2 and Jan. 3 on the road against the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks.

Toronto will travel to Colorado for a matchup with the Avalanche on Saturday before returning home for a rematch with the Golden Knights on Tuesday, Feb. 27.