The fact that the Maple Leafs captain would go on to score career goal No. 422 on this night was the icing on the celebratory cake.
“It means a lot,” Matthews said about the fact that Sundin had flown in from Sweden to pay tribute to him. “Like I’ve said, it’s been special. It’s special to wear this jersey.
“To have Mats come in, and to have so many players pave the way who have worn this jersey, it’s very special and I’m very very appreciative.”
So were the spectators, especially the ones behind the net at the west end of the arena, who each wore a letter on their individual white T-shirts that, when in the proper order, spelled out M-A-T-T-H-E-W-S. And when the Maple Leafs captain responded by putting Toronto ahead 3-0 at 4:01 of the second period, they held up three gold balloons depicting the numbers 4-2-2.
Also in the stands was Sundin, who watched the proceedings alongside his pal and former Maple Leafs teammate Tie Domi. Tie’s son Max, Sundin’s godson, is now himself a forward with Toronto and brought the crowd to its feet when he dropped the gloves with Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad late in the first period.
Sundin chuckled when pondering the fact that Matthews set the record in his 664th game with the Leafs. Sundin scored 420 goals in 981 games in a Toronto uniform.
“I mean, he did it so fast,” Sundin said. “I thought it might take him a little longer.”
He paused to laugh.
“I think it’s important when there’s history being made and records being broken,” he said. “Being a Maple Leaf, it’s so special for me, and I think I can relate to where Auston Matthews is in his career at this point.
“It’s kind of anxiety trying to get it over with, because he’s got more important things to think about, winning hockey games for the Leafs. I wanted to be here for that.”
Pretty much everyone in the building did, including members of the Panthers who watched the pregame festivities from the visitors bench.
It was especially meaningful for Florida forward Carter Verhaeghe, who would go on to score the Panthers’ only goal of the night. The 30-year-old is a Toronto native and embraced every second of seeing a legend like Sundin on the ice.
“It was really cool to see,” he said. “I mean, I had his jersey growing up. He was my favorite player.
“Obviously, he means a lot to the organization and to the city. I’ve never met him before, but it was pretty cool to see him go out there and see the fans.”
Paul Maurice felt the same way. The Panthers coach held that same role with the Maple Leafs from 2006-08 -- coaching Sundin's final two seasons in Toronto -- and understands the significance of a record like the one Matthews now owns for one of the NHL’s Original Six franchises.
“To truly look back at it, you appreciate it because of all of the names that you and I grew up with,” Maurice said of the Maple Leafs' history. “And if we didn’t, our dads did, right? And to be part of that, that’s impressive.”
As for the present, Maurice was not pleased with the Panthers' game, saying “we started out slow and got slower.” Part of that must be attributed to the play of a Maple Leafs team that won puck battles in the corners and charged hard with numbers to Florida's net, stealing a page from the Panthers' playbook.
Whether the Maple Leafs can replicate such an effort come playoff time remains to be seen. More often than not in recent times, they haven’t.
Of course, this night wasn’t about the future. It was more about history, specifically that being penned by Matthews right now.
