The first ‘Matthews/Marner Bowl’ took place Thursday night, as the Toronto Maple Leafs continued their road trip against the Vegas Golden Knights, and while there were some flashes of brilliance from the buds in this one, the Leafs weren’t able to hold on to multiple leads, losing the highly anticipated contest 6-5 in overtime.

Matthews had a great game in front of his former linemate, scoring on a nice tip in front, and logging over 23 minutes. Marner, on the other hand, also had a strong game, finishing his first career game against his hometown Leafs with two assists, and just over 22 minutes of ice-time.

Before the game, Matthews made it clear he wasn’t going to answer any more questions around Marner, and after the tough loss, the Leafs’ captain made sure to tip his hat to the Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights.

“That’s a good team over there. I thought we played a good game, kind of let it slip away,” said Matthews postgame. “That’s obviously the frustrating part. I thought we played pretty solid for most of the game. Their power play got them a couple goals. Yeah, it’s a tough one.”

The Maple Leafs scored two goals in the early stages of the first period and looked to be flying against the Golden Knights, which was a great sign considering how bad they played in Utah earlier in the week. Unfortunately, Toronto couldn’t find a way to close out the game, letting Vegas hang around long enough to eventually tie the game with just seven seconds remaining. Matthews knows they’ll need to learn from this tough outcome if they want to be a playoff team.

“We want to be a team that can finish. If we’re in a position to close games out, to make sure that we’re getting it done. It’s a frustrating one because I felt like we did a lot of good things, and did enough to win the game.”

The Maple Leafs are in the middle of a very tough stretch, as after their road trip concludes in Winnipeg Saturday night, they’ll head back home to host some of the NHL’s best teams in the Minnesota Wild, Detroit Red Wings, Vegas, Colorado Avalanche and Buffalo Sabres. Matthews knows how important this stretch is if Toronto wants to stick around in the Eastern Conference.

“We just have to pick ourselves up and get ready for the last game of this road trip, and finish off on the right foot.”

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