Three takeaways

1. Matthews set tone. We all know Toronto center Auston Matthews is an elite player. But he showed why he’s so good early on. First, he drew a slashing penalty from Brendan Leipsic which led to the first of Nazem Kadri’s two goals. Then Matthews made a great spin move to elude Luca Sbisa that led to James van Riemsdyk’s goal to make it 2-1. Matthews was suffering leg soreness and was a game-time decision. But he looked fine once the game started. He also looked human as he took a late secondperiod tripping penalty which led to Reilly Smith’s goal that made it 3-2.

2. The Leafs are fast in O-zone. Toronto pressed the Knights’ defensemen all game and it made life tough for goalie Maxime Lagace. He was facing some point-blank shots and he didn’t have much of a chance on most of the goals generated by the Maple Leafs’ high-octane attack.

3. Good second period. Remember early in the season when the Knights dominated the scond period? They did so again Monday, scoring the only goal, keeping the Maple Leafs in check and having just one giveaway in the middle 20 minutes. It allowed them to get back in the game.

Steve Carp

trip .500 but getting something when it looked like they would leave Toronto empty-handed was encouraging.

“It was a tough first period but we did a good job coming back,” said Smith, whose second-period goal was his fifth of the season. “You always want that extra point. But it’s good to pick up a point after you’re down a couple of goals in the first period.”

Contact Steve Carp at scarp@ reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.