Hughes brothers praise Leafs captain after gold medal win: ‘Auston Matthews is a winner’
“I’m trying to live in the moment, man. C’mon.” Matthews said, smiling.
“I think it doesn’t matter what anyone says now, Auston Matthews in a winner,” Jack Hughes interrupted. “Auston Matthews is an Olympic gold medalist, he’s a winner.”
“Yeah, that’s what the media should be talking about. Auston Matthews led us to a championship,” Quinn Hughes added.
“I got nothing else to say,” Matthews responded, earning a laugh from media.
Serving as America’s captain for the second time, Matthews finished top-three in points alongside the two Hughes brothers, with three goals and four assists in six games. It’s a major improvement over his performance at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, where he registered just three assists. Matthews’ performance helped carry the United States to their first Olympic men’s ice hockey gold medal since 1980. As the Hughes brothers put it quite simply, he’s returning to Toronto a winner.
Matthews had another slow start to his season this year, but saw his play pick up in the lead-up to his Olympic debut. So far this year, the 28-year-old has 26 goals and 48 points in 51 games. The Maple Leafs are six points back from a wild card spot, and Matthews has his work cut out for him in powering the team back to the playoffs with 25 games remaining.
NHL hockey resumes this week, with the Maple Leafs kicking things off on the road in Florida. They’ll face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, then take on the Florida Panthers on Thursday. Their first home game is on Saturday, with the Ottawa Senators visiting for another instalment in the Battle of Ontario.