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Leafs squander a big night for Auston Matthews, again

Toronto Maple Leafs v New Jersey Devils

NEWARK, NJ - NOVEMBER 23: Leo Komarov #47 and Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs congratulate teammate Nazem Kadri #43 of the Toronto Maple Leafs after he scored in the first period against the New Jersey Devils on November 23, 2016 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

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Remember when Auston Matthews made NHL history by scoring four goals in his debut? Remember that the Toronto Maple Leafs still managed to lose that game in overtime?

Those memories feel relevant on Wednesday, as Matthews enjoyed a big night in breaking through a personal scoring drought, yet Toronto lost anyway.

Matthews helped the Maple Leafs open the game up with a 3-0 lead thanks to a three-point first period, including two tallies that authoritatively ended a 13-game goal drought.

Things really fell apart quickly. The Devils made it 3-3 with three goals 5:30 into the second period. Still, Matt Martin gave the Leafs another lead at 4-3 just a few minutes later, but that edge wouldn’t hold.

Yohann Auvitu tied things up early in the final frame and Jacob Josefson scored the only shootout goal as the Devils reminded people of their scrappiness with a 5-4 shootout victory.

With that, the Leafs are now on a three-game losing streak, but perhaps Matthews will help Toronto get things back together? If nothing else, he won’t need to answer questions about scoring.

Instead, most reporters will probably focus on the “unable to hold a lead” business.