Date: November 3, 2025
Source: Toronto Maple Leafs (YouTube)
After the Maple Leafs’ 4–3 comeback win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, Auston Matthews spoke about the team’s slow start, their resilient third period, William Nylander’s return, and Nick Robertson’s continued emergence.
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On the Team’s Third-Period Push
“I mean, just energy and passion, emotion. The first two periods — it wasn’t pretty. We just couldn’t really get much going on either side of the puck. The message was, third period, let’s just go work, let’s get one goal and see what happens. I’m proud of the way we fought back, but obviously you don’t want to put yourself in that position to begin with. That’s definitely something we want to clean up right away.”
On the Message in the Locker Room
“I think it was from everybody — the coach, players. From effort to the energy, the execution just wasn’t good enough in the first two periods. It showed in the scoreboard, showed in the shots, showed in chances — showed in everything. They’re a good team over there, but we got one and saw what happened. We rolled over a couple shifts, got some good opportunities, and next thing you know, the momentum and atmosphere in the stands changed.”
On Anthony Stolarz’s Performance
“He’s been great all year, but I feel like in these kinds of games where maybe we’re lacking execution or awareness on both sides of the puck, he comes up big for us and keeps it close. He played great for us tonight.”
On William Nylander’s Return
“He didn’t look like he’s had any time off. He was moving his feet, making plays, and obviously scored a couple big goals for us. I thought he was good tonight. There was a little bit of shuffling with the lines, but in the third period we just tried to go work and make plays — and we were able to capitalize.”
On the Team’s Resilience
“It can give you confidence, but in the end, we’re a veteran group. We’ve been in situations like that before. It’s great to come back and get the two points and have a great third period, but the focus should be on the first two periods — why we lacked all those different things that got us down in the game in the first place. We’ll figure that out, take the two points, and keep building our game.”
On Nick Robertson’s Recent Play
“He works. He shoots the puck like few people can, and he’s a smaller guy but not afraid to go to the dirty areas and battle. He’s been playing great for us the last couple weeks — a great game tonight.”
Pulse Takeaway
Matthews credited the Leafs’ late push to renewed energy and commitment in the third period while emphasizing the need to fix their slow starts. He praised Anthony Stolarz’s steadiness, Nylander’s seamless return, and Robertson’s continued growth — calling the comeback a learning moment and a confidence boost for the group.
Quotes from Auston Matthews via Toronto Maple Leafs (YouTube). Used for analysis and commentary.
Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and length.