Initially, Winnipeg dominated the game, taking a 2–0 lead by the end of the first period.
A minute and a half into the second period, however, Auston Matthews made a play and scored his first goal for Toronto, set up by Swedish defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. A few minutes later, Ekman-Larsson himself scored on a wrist shot. In the 20th minute, Matthews scored his second goal of the night to cut the deficit to 3–4.
In the third period, Toronto finally turned the tables. Matthews scored the game's final goal to complete his hat trick in a 6–5 victory. It was the team's fifth win in six games.
"It was amazing. It's always fun to win a game that's really back and forth," Matthews said after the game, according to nhl.com.
Matthews has now scored a total of 419 goals in the NHL, just one fewer than Mats Sundin, who holds Toronto's record.
"It's exciting, but I try not to think about it too much. I take each game as it comes and go from there," Matthews previously told the Toronto Star.
Swedish forward William Nylander missed his third straight game after sustaining an injury last week.
