TORONTO -- The kid from Scottsdale, Arizona, looked right at home in his first career outdoor NHL game, and then some.
Auston Matthews scored twice for the Toronto Maple Leafs in Sunday's Centennial Classic, including the overtime winner against the Detroit Red Wings 3:40 into the 3-on-3 period, adding another layer to a legend that's quickly growing only 36 games into his career.
"To get a big goal like that, you don't want to call it a storybook [ending]. But you may as well, right?" marveled teammate Morgan Rielly.
Should we really be surprised by anything Matthews does at this point?
The 19-year-old's 32 points now lead the rookie race. His 20th goal triggered a $212,500 bonus in his entry-level contract, and though Matthews played some shinny outside during his two years with the U.S. national team development program in Ann Arbor, Michigan, this was his first official outdoor game. No. 34 looked oh so smooth out there before 40,148 delirious -- if not frozen -- fans at BMO Field, who saw Matthews and the Leafs win a 5-4 thriller over the Red Wings.
"Definitely one of the best moments in hockey I've ever experienced for myself," Matthews said. "It's pretty special. All 23 guys out there, we played a pretty solid game ... it's a bigger setting, a lot more fans, that national stage. So for us to come out and get that win, it was a pretty exciting game. People were on the edge of their seats in the third period and overtime. Just really fun to experience this whole thing.''
Matthews' growth as a budding superstar continues before our eyes. Leafs coach Mike Babcock now entrusts his 19-year-old center with late-game assignments, not to mention tougher matchups such as the one he drew Sunday against Red Wings veteran Henrik Zetterberg.
But, as Babcock pointed out after the game, Zetterberg and his Red Wings linemate Anthony Mantha also each put up three points. "They were pretty good too, so let's not get carried away,'' the Leafs coach said.
In fact, Matthews was on the ice for six goals overall in the Centennial Classic, three for each team. But that's just more growth potential on a big stage like Sunday's. The only way to learn how to play on that kind of stage is to do so.
"He's an exceptional kid and a great guy,'' 22-year-old linemate Connor Brown, a fellow rookie who also scored Sunday, said of Matthews. "He continues to get better in my eyes. He's winning draws today. He's out there in the last minute with a lead today. He continues to grow. It's fun to play with him.''
Said Rielly of the team's franchise centerpiece: "I don't think there's anybody in this room that's surprised by it. He works hard every day. He's got a skill set that allows him to do things that a lot of other people can't do. But on top of that, he's got a good brain, he works hard and he's been playing with good teammates."
Matthews also helped save what resembled more of a clunker than a classic through the first 40 minutes. The Red Wings were up 1-0 after two periods of tightly controlled play that wasn't very entertaining.
Then came eight combined goals in 20-plus minutes of play, which completely rewrote the script of the Centennial Classic.
The Leafs scored four consecutive goals, capped by Matthews' at 12:05 -- and with Toronto leading 4-1, it looked like a done deal. But the resilient Red Wings rallied back with three goals of their own, including tallies by Dylan Larkin and Mantha after Detroit pulled its goalie.
Talk about a stunner.
It was a moment in which the young Leafs were either going to sink or swim in the face of this kind of adversity. They rose up in overtime, with Matthews delivering the final blow.
"At playoff time in the National Hockey League, you're either up one or down one," Babcock said. "It's the same every night. You've got to love the duress. You've got to love the grind. You've got to love digging in and knowing you're going to get it done, so that was a good opportunity for our team because we haven't had those kind of opportunities, so I thought that was good.''
Playoffs? Did Babcock mention playoffs?
Indeed, the team that finished dead last in the NHL last season, which helped them procure the Matthews draft pick, sits three points back of the Boston Bruins for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.
The Maple Leafs' lineup on Sunday that included eight rookies won its fifth consecutive game, their best streak since they won six straight in December 2014.
Are the rebuilding Leafs accelerating their plan?
"We're finding players every day as we watch them grow, and we have aspirations to be a really good team in the National Hockey League, one that in the summer you know you're going to make the playoffs," Babcock cautioned. "That's not where we're at right now, but we're a work in progress. We like the direction we're going.''
They're not a fluke. Their puck-possession numbers keep tracking up. Their young players are learning -- and learning how to win.
Oh, there will be more hiccups, and I'd still bet that the playoffs are a year away for the Leafs. But they're in the fight now. And games like the one Sunday, on the big stage, remind you that Matthews and his Leafs are coming. Perhaps sooner than we thought.