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Auston Matthews Opens Up About Mitch Marner Reunion Following Maple Leafs Win vs. Predators

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Devon A. Platana | Last updated Dec 5, 2024 1:36 AM ET

Auston Matthews looked like his old self during the Toronto Maple Leafs' 3-2 victory against the Nashville Predators on Wednesday night.

The Maple Leafs captain led by example as he scored his seventh and eighth goals of the 2024-25 NHL season to help lift his team to its third straight win. It was also the second game in a row that Matthews scored as he continues to return to form after missing nine games with an upper-body injury.

While the Scotiabank Arena crowd's support played a role in Matthews' performance, so did a reunion with long-time linemate Mitch Marner. The Predators couldn't contain the Maple Leafs' dynamic duo as Marner assisted on both of Matthews' goals while also tallying a helper on William Nylander's game-winning marker.

Following Toronto's win, Matthews spoke with SportsNet's Shawn McKenzie about how it felt to be reunited with Marner for the first time since his return from injury.

"(Marner) is an incredible player and an easy guy to play with," Matthews said. "We've logged a lot of minutes together so we're always going to have that familiarity with each other... It was good to connect right away and keep it going."

"I think the momentum kind of shifted on our side, and we just kept rolling it over."

Auston Matthews speaks with @ShawnMcKenzieSN about the Leafs' 3-2 win over the Predators, playing with Mitch Marner, and coming back from injury. pic.twitter.com/8nM2tphSZE
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 5, 2024

Missing nine games to begin November frustrated Matthews, who wanted to be on the ice helping the Maple Leafs compete. Although being away from the team was hard, the 27-year-old sharpshooter was thankful to have teammates like Marner holding down the fort.

"'Mitchy' drives so much play for us and does so much for us on both sides of the puck," Matthews said. "When you see that, it's really encouraging... We've got a great team so we're just trying to keep it going."

The Matthews-Marner reunion came during the second period when the Maple Leafs were struggling to generate offensive chances. Head coach Craig Berube may have been the one who decided to put the pair back together, however, he won't take full credit for their rekindled chemistry.

"I don't take credit," Berube said about Matthews and Marners' success, per TSN. "I thought I'd move a couple of guys around to see if we could get something going... They went, got a couple of opportunities and capitalized on them."

With Wednesday night's win, the Maple Leafs have improved to 16-7-2 (34 points) on the season, further widening their lead atop the Atlantic Division. Marner has been instrumental to that success as he leads the team in assists (27) and points (36) without missing a game while Matthews has eight goals and 16 points in as many outings.

Marner and Matthews will look to build off their successful reunion when the Washington Capitals visit Scotiabank Arena on Friday.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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