Matthews wanted more energy from Leafs crowd after Reaves fight
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews wished there was a better atmosphere within Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday night after a spirited fight between teammate Ryan Reaves and Columbus Blue Jackets enforcer Mathieu Olivier.
The heavyweights went at it less than two minutes into the first period.
Ryan Reaves drops the mitts with Mathieu Olivier for his first fight of the year! 🥊 pic.twitter.com/ZqDovY76MT
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 23, 2025
"Love to see that," Matthews said, per TSN's Mark Masters. "Would've liked a little more energy from the crowd after that. It was a little quiet tonight, especially after two guys like that go at it. But it was a great moment for him. I thought gave us some energy on the bench."
Neither team found momentum immediately after the bout, but Columbus opened the scoring later in the period en route to a 5-1 victory despite registering only 19 shots.
Matthews registered Toronto's only tally of the contest, extending his goal streak to five games.
The scrap was Reaves' first of the season even though he's long been known as one of the league's most avid fighters. He recently garnered attention for trying to fight Montreal Canadiens blue-liner Arber Xhekaj, but the latter declined the invitation with the Habs leading at the time. Reaves later took a jab at Xhekaj's decision, saying it was a "tough look" as Toronto scored seven consecutive goals to win the contest.
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