Matthews, Nylander shine for host Maple Leafs at NHL All-Star Skills

TORONTO -- By the end of the night, when the field had been whittled down to six players left in the NHL All-Star Skills presented by DraftKings Sportsbook, two were pretty much guaranteed to have a warm reception at Scotiabank Arena, no matter where they finished.

Unlike a pair of Atlantic Division foes, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov and Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak, both of whom heard boos during the competition and were knocked out early, Toronto Maple Leafs forwards Auston Matthews and William Nylander were in no danger of hearing boos. Being knocked out early, on the other hand, was a possibility.

Until they dominated the Honda/Hyundai NHL One-on-One.

With Nylander going up against Los Angeles Kings goalie Cam Talbot and Matthews going against Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko, the two Maple Leafs took the first two spots in the event, ensuring they would move on to the next round.

And though neither ultimately won the Skills Competition, there was no question who was best in the One-on-One.

“Just trying to get as many shots as possible,” Nylander said of the event where the skaters took first one- and then two-point pucks and attempted to score. “I was pretty tired by the end of it. … When you go from resting for like 45 minutes and then going full speed, you’re pretty gassed after a minute.”

Nylander had the benefit of going first in the event, opting for Talbot.

“I was just looking at the goalies, I’m just going to go with the guy across from me,” Nylander said. “I felt like he was looking at me. So, I was like, OK, I’ll grab him.”

Nylander ended up with nine points in the event, with Matthews getting seven. That propelled them into the Pepsi Obstacle Course, which Nylander counted as his favorite event, calling it “a combination of everything,” even though he finished fourth at 49.065 seconds behind Matthews in third at 47.271, as well as winner Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers (40.606) and Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar (43.435).

That left Matthews in third in the final standings with 18 points and Nylander in fourth with 16.

But it wasn’t assured that the two Maple Leafs would even get that far. After the first two events, the Fastenal NHL Fastest Skater and the Tim Hortons One Timers, Nylander was in ninth and Matthews in 12th. That didn’t improve much after the Scotiabank NHL Passing Challenge, even though Matthews placed fourth and Nylander fifth, or the Rogers NHL Hardest Shot, where Matthews placed fourth again.

As they headed into the fourth event, both were still in danger of being dropped out of the competition.

“I was a little nervous after that poor start,” Matthews said. “I just wanted to make it to the second round and see what happened, see if I could sneak in there.”

Nylander came in third in the Upper Deck NHL Stick Handling, his 27.272 seconds behind McDavid and New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal, which pushed him into sixth.

But the pressure was on for the Cheetos NHL Accuracy Shooting.

Though no one could match McDavid’s scorching 9.158 seconds, Matthews came in second in 9.341 and Nylander in fourth at 14.099.

They were in.

“I thought I was dead in the water after the first event, the One Timers, I didn’t do too well in that,” Matthews said. “I really wanted to do well in that Accuracy Shooting because I knew I had to do something to make it to the second round. I was fortunate in that one.”

But there are two more Maple Leafs All-Stars this weekend, with defenseman Morgan Rielly and forward Mitchell Marner having to wait for the 2024 Honda (U.S.)/ Rogers (Canada) NHL All-Star Game on Sunday to take the ice.

Asked how they would have done in the Skills, Matthews said: “I think they would have done great. I think they would have been really good. ‘Mitchy’ especially in some of those. He’s got great edges, great control with the puck. No doubt he would have been up there for sure.”

Instead, it was just Matthews and Nylander, both of whom were able to enjoy the night, even if they didn’t walk away with the bonus of that $1 million.

“It was good,” Matthews said. “I thought it was a lot of fun, pretty competitive. Obviously, as it started to wind down, guys were putting in some pretty big efforts.”

And they gave an A to the new format of the Skills.

“This is the first year doing this,” Matthews said. “It’s never going to be perfect, but I think it’s a good base for the future and continue to have Skills Competitions in somewhat like this format and keep it competitive and fun for everybody.”