TORONTO — Auston Matthews scored at 4:46 of overtime to complete a comeback as the Toronto Maple Leafs erased a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Nashville Predators 5-4 on Tuesday at Scotiabank Arena. Matthews took a pass from William Nylander in the extra period to end a chaotic night after Toronto failed to convert a 3-on-0 in overtime.
Matthews added three assists in regulation, while Nylander, No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna, John Tavares and Jack Roslovic also scored for Toronto (2-2-0). Anthony Stolarz made 21 saves. McKenna picked up an assist on Tavares' goal for his first NHL point, Nylander added two assists and Roslovic added one. For Nashville (1-1-1), Steven Stamkos scored twice and Nils Hoglander added two goals, with Filip Forsberg chipping in two assists and Juuse Saros making 33 stops.
Nashville built a 3-0 lead on Stamkos' power-play goal at 7:13 of the first period, Hoglander's rebound goal at 9:08 of the first and Hoglander's tap-in at 3:03 of the second. Toronto answered when Tavares scored off the rush at 4:56 of the second with McKenna earning the primary assist, and Nylander cut it to 3-2 on the power play at 6:58. Stamkos restored a two-goal lead at 13:30 of the second, but McKenna answered 61 seconds later at 14:31, taking a pass from Matthews and firing upstairs on Saros before dropping to one knee in celebration. Roslovic tied it at 8:54 of the third with a bar-down finish to force overtime.
Stamkos' first-period goal was the 626th of his career, moving him into 17th place on the NHL's all-time list past Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla. Dave Andreychuk sits 16th with 640. Stamkos also became the third active player with 100 game-opening goals, trailing Alex Ovechkin (154) and Sidney Crosby (127). Colton Sissons, who played parts of 11 seasons with Nashville and spent 2025-26 with the Vegas Golden Knights before signing with Toronto, faced his former team.
Toronto visits the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, while Nashville visits the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.