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BOSTON — Auston Matthews has been characterized as just a regular-season star — one criticized for flaming out right when the Toronto Maple Leafs hit the playoffs.

Consider Matthews to have issued a rebuttal.

The scene: Late in Game 2 of Toronto’s first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Boston Bruins on Monday. The Leafs were trying to avoid falling into a 2-0 series deficit, with the scoreboard knotted at 2-2 late in the third period. The rowdy hometown crowd at TD Garden were taunting the visitors with electrified chants of “U-S-A … U-S-A” when Matthews — arguably the greatest American-born hockey player in the league today who happens to play for an iconic Canadian franchise — saw his opening.

Like a running back sprinting for daylight in the open field, Matthews charged into the Bruins’ zone, gloved down a pass from linemate Max Domi, juked defenseman Charlie McAvoy and bamboozled Boston goaltender Linus Ullmark with a perfectly placed top-shelf strike.

In a blink, Matthews’ eventual game-winner took Toronto from the emotional brink to a soft landing en route to a 3-2 victory. The Leafs left Boston with home-ice advantage in a best-of-five series against the opponent with whom they hadn’t even held a lead in their previous five meetings.

Matthews was the opposite of invisible. He was impossible to ignore. Now, more than ever, is Matthews’ time to shine.

“You look at his goal [on Monday] — that was a nothing play,” Bruins captain Brad Marchand said. “And he got a game-winning goal off of it. Even when you think you’re tight on him, you’re not tight enough. But that’s the thing about the best players; they find a way. And that’s what he did.”


IT’S BEEN A JOURNEY for Matthews finding his way to blossom in the postseason. Prior to Monday, he’d recorded 22 goals and 44 points in 51 playoff tilts, but hadn’t registered a goal in his previous six postseason appearances. And that is from a player who’s won three Rocket Richard Trophies as the league’s top goal-scorer, including a career-best 69-goal campaign in 2023-24.

Make no mistake — the numbers aren’t bad. But for whatever reason, Matthews hasn’t translated consistently to being the same difference-making threat in the playoffs that he’s been in the regular season.

Perhaps that ends now, with Matthews apparently letting go of the pressure and allowing his skill to take over.

“It’s just happening so fast, you don’t really have time to think,” Matthews said of teeing up his game-winner. “It’s honestly kind of instincts, and just trying to make the right play.”

It wasn’t just that momentum separating Matthews from the pack. He assisted on both Leaf goals earlier in the night (courtesy of Domi and John Tavares on the power play), had a game-high eight shots on goal, six hits, and at one point made a potential game-saving move in the crease behind goaltender Ilya Samsonov to keep a puck out of the Leafs’ cage.

Matthews is not above the fray. He’ll do the so-called dirty work. And that commitment at both ends of the spectrum — offensively and defensively — is what emerged most in Game 2, and caught Boston’s full attention.

“What I’ve been impressed with him about is how tenacious he’s been on pucks, how tenacious he’s been on the forecheck,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “He’s been relentless with his work ethic. We can’t let him get in behind us. That’s the most dangerous man on the ice; you have to be tighter [with him]. But he’s the most dangerous man on the ice because he’s earned it.”

Matthews has done it the hard way, bearing the brunt of expectations. It’s been the same narrative since Matthews arrived in Toronto as their No. 1 overall pick in 2016; the Leafs will go as far in the playoffs as Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Tavares take them. The Leafs’ hopes live and die with their “Core Four.”

Matthews shoulders that burden more than ever. Toronto hasn’t seen Nylander — a 40-goal scorer in his own right — in this series yet due to an undisclosed injury (he remains a possibility to return in Game 3). Marner has been dead-quiet, with zero points and four total shots on goal. Tavares is doing his part, but the Leafs’ captain is past his scoring prime.

Matthews, meanwhile, is in the thick of his. He’s the red-hot middle of Toronto’s nucleus, the Leafs’ highly prized, series-defining skater. And that’s for better or for worse.

“He’s world-class in everything he does,” Tavares said of Matthews. “Having the night like he did [in Game 2] was massive for our group. The goal is one thing; it’s obviously special. Not many guys in the world [have] those instincts and the hands and finishing ability. But the competitive aspect, winning battles, fighting for space, using his body — things he does so truly well that sets the standard for us. It was a hell of a game by him and just driving our team.”


THE TRICK NOW is Matthews sustaining the momentum he’s created and turning it into something tangible. The Leafs infamously went two decades without a first-round playoff series win until besting the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games last year. Matthews had five goals in the final four games to get Toronto over the line — and then managed only two assists through five games in a second-round flop against the Florida Panthers.

It’s not enough for Matthews to just light the lamp. His impact must be felt in every phase of the game. Monday’s performance exemplified who Matthews can be at his most powerful. He didn’t make it look easy, exactly. And the Bruins are a smart, opportunistic team that have already shown Toronto they’ll throw every mistake the Leafs make into the back of their net.

Matthews found a way to break through with a goal-scoring finish and an exuberant reaction from a usually subdued Matthews. It could be bigger than a single win. It could be a sign that the best of Playoff Matthews has arrived — and is still to come.

“Auston was all over the stat sheet and in so many regards he’s affecting the game positively for us,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. “But for me, the way he worked, where he competed, he was hard, physical, winning puck battles all over the ice. Really good … it’s big-time stuff the way those guys connected in the finish.”

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Berry gets first career Cup Series win at Vegas

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Berry gets first career Cup Series win at Vegas

LAS VEGAS — Josh Berry raced to the first Cup Series victory of his career, taking NASCAR’s oldest team to victory lane Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Berry, in his first season driving the famed No. 21 for Wood Brothers Racing, had the first victory for a Ford team through five races this season. William Byron opened the year with a Daytona 500 victory in a Chevrolet and Christopher Bell in a Toyota won the next three races.

Berry, meanwhile, had to run down Daniel Suarez following a restart with 19 laps remaining to take control. Although Harrison Burton won at Daytona last summer for the Wood Brothers, Berry’s victory is the first not at a superspeedway since Ryan Blaney won for the team in 2017 at Pocono.

It was the 101st victory for the organization spanning 20 drivers.

Suarez in a Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing finished second, followed by Ryan Preece in a Ford for RFK Racing. Byron was fourth for Hendrick Motorsports, followed by Ross Chastain of Trackhouse, Austin Cindric of Team Penske and Alex Bowman of Hendrick.

AJ Allmendinger of Kaulig Racing was eighth, and Hendrick drivers Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott rounded out the top 10.

Joey Logano had late control of the race until Las Vegas native Noah Gragson hit the wall with 25 laps remaining to bring out the ninth caution of the race. Berry was in second when the caution came out and second behind Suarez on the restart.

Berry won in his 53rd Cup race and just his fifth race with the Wood Brothers, the team that signed him when Stewart-Haas Racing shuttered at the end of last season.

The 34-year-old Tennessee driver was a 40-1 underdog to win Sunday’s race and his win put the Wood Brothers back into the playoffs for a second consecutive season.

Bell to the back

Bell came to Las Vegas on a three-race winning streak with an opportunity to become the first driver since Jimmie Johnson in 2007 to win four consecutive Cup races.

But his chance to extend his streak was stymied when Joe Gibbs Racing had to change the throttle body on the No. 20 Toyota after Bell qualified 13th and the penalty dropped him to the back of the field for the start of the race.

He never recovered in what was an overall subpar day for the four-driver JGR contingent.

Bell, who complained about the handling of his car most of the race, finished a team-high 12th. Only eight drivers have won four straight Cup races in the modern era of NASCAR that began in 1972.

Chase Briscoe was 17th and Ty Gibbs, who rolled a sprint car Saturday night at the dirt track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, finished 22nd. Denny Hamlin, winner of more than $200,000 over two nights of playing slots in the Las Vegas casino, couldn’t convert his luck to the track and finished 25th.

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The Cup Series races next Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, a track that had been in the playoff rotation the last three years but has now been moved to a spring race. Tyler Reddick won last October and Bell won in 2023.

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Bell to start at rear of field after prerace penalty

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Bell to start at rear of field after prerace penalty

LAS VEGAS — Christopher Bell will have to start from the back of the field in his attempt to win a fourth consecutive Cup Series race after NASCAR penalized the Joe Gibbs Racing driver on Sunday for making changes to his Toyota.

Bell had been set to start 13th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where he is trying to become the first driver since Jimmie Johnson in 2007 to win four consecutive Cup races. But JGR changed the throttle body on the No. 20 Toyota after qualifying, resulting in Bell forfeiting his starting spot.

Bell came to Las Vegas coming off victories at Atlanta, Circuit of the Americas in Texas and Phoenix. Only eight drivers have won four straight Cup races in the modern era of NASCAR that began in 1972. Among those who have accomplished the feat, seven are in NASCAR’s Hall of Fame and six are Cup Series champions.

The drivers who have won four consecutive races in the modern era are Cale Yarborough in 1976, Darrell Waltrip in 1981, Dale Earnhardt in 1987, Harry Gant in 1981, Bill Elliott in 1992, Mark Martin in 1993, Jeff Gordon in 1998 and Johnson 18 years ago.

Bell’s three straight wins are the Cup Series’ longest streak since Kyle Larson won three in a row twice in 2021, and Bell is the first to do it in NASCAR’s Next Gen car, which was introduced in 2022.

His three wins this year tie his career-high victory tallies set in 2022 and matched in 2024. At Las Vegas, Bell has five career top-10 finishes in 10 starts and three poles. He was the runner-up in Vegas’ past two fall races.

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McDowell on pole as Bell seeks 4th straight win

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McDowell on pole as Bell seeks 4th straight win

Spire Motorsports’ Michael McDowell captured pole position for the seventh time in his career during Saturday’s qualifying session for the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

It’s the first pole for Spire, which has shown stark improvement with an infusion of cash brought by new majority owner Dan Towriss, who also controls Andretti Global in IndyCar and the Cadillac F1 team set to debut in 2026.

McDowell’s previous six poles all came during the 2024 season, his 17th in the Cup Series.

Christopher Bell qualified in 13th position but will start from the back of the field as he searches for a fourth consecutive win. NASCAR penalized the Joe Gibbs Racing driver Sunday for making changes to his Toyota.

He could become the first driver since Jimmie Johnson in 2007 to win four consecutive Cup Series races — an accomplishment that only eight drivers have achieved in the modern era of NASCAR that began in 1972.

Lackluster qualifying hasn’t been a deterrent for Bell thus far, as he started 19th before winning at Circuit of the Americas and 32nd before winning at Atlanta.

Joey Logano will start Sunday’s race alongside McDowell on the front of the grid, qualifying in the top two at Las Vegas for the third time in five races. Austin Cindric will start third, while Las Vegas native Kyle Busch starts in fourth.

Bell has received a congratulatory text message from Johnson after each win in this three-race streak, and he is hoping the seven-time NASCAR champion hits that send button again Sunday.

“It is still the coolest thing in the world to me that I have Jimmie Johnson in my phone,” Bell said. “He has talked to me, he has sent me a text message after every win so far. I’m still shocked every time I see his name pop up. I respect the heck out of him. It’s an honor to know that he thinks of me after the race to send a text message. That is so cool.”

Bell’s three straight wins is the Cup Series’ longest winning streak since Kyle Larson won three in a row twice in 2021, and Bell is the first to do it in NASCAR’s Next Gen car, which was introduced in 2022.

The three wins this year tie his season-high set in 2022 and matched in 2024, and setting a new mark isn’t out of the question at Las Vegas, where he has five career top-10 finishes in 10 starts and three poles. Bell, in his No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, was the runner-up in Vegas’ last two fall races.

He is not considering a fourth consecutive victory a lock, even as he has dominated the first month of the season.

“One thing is for sure: Nothing that has happened the last three weeks means anything for this week,” Bell said. “Everything is still ahead of me and nothing is set, and we have to go out there and perform. This has been a strong track for us in the past, but I’m just trying very hard to not get ahead of myself and understand it is a new week. It’s a different race, and everyone is going to be bringing their best stuff to try to beat me.”

Perhaps the greatest threat to end Bell’s hot streak is Larson, who has won at the “Diamond in the Desert” three times since joining Hendrick Motorsports. Larson’s first win with Hendrick came at Las Vegas in March 2021, and he has claimed two of the previous three races held at the track, winning the South Point 400 in October 2023 and the Pennzoil 400 in March 2024.

“I think since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2021, it’s probably been our best racetrack,” Larson said. “Getting a few wins, I think two other second-place finishes in that time has also been really good. The track is great, but getting to come to the city and have fun on the Strip and all the stuff that it has to offer, it probably makes it one of my three favorite races to get to.”

Logano is the most recent winner at Las Vegas, as his victory at the South Point 400 in October propelled him to his third NASCAR title.

The Associated Press and Field Level Media contributed to this report.

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