Matthews comments on Sandin stepping in and dropping the gloves on his behalf
Midway through the third period of last night's game against the Islanders, Auston Matthews was on the receiving end of a knee-on-knee from Oliver Wahlstrom - a hit that was similar to the one Matthews received a penalty for just a couple of games ago. There was no call on the play and thankfully Matthews was alright, but that didn't stop Rasmus Sandin from going right after Wahlstrom.
Sandin had never been in a fight in the NHL before but managed to score the takedown after eating a couple of shots from his longtime friend in Wahlstrom. Post-fight, Sandin was given shin taps from Mark Giordano and Matthews and received an ovation from the Leafs' faithful for standing up for Matthews.
"It meant a lot, Sandy jumping in there," Matthews said after the game. "This group is extremely tight," he continued. "We have each other's backs. At my end, it's much appreciated but I don't know how much I want to see Sandy dropping his gloves."
As the "toughness" of the Leafs always comes into question because they don't have the traditional fighter in their lineup every night, Sandin showed that they don't necessarily need one. This is the second instance this month where the team has come to defend each other, the first one being during the Travis Konecny and Matthews scrum at the beginning of the month. At the same time, having already lost Morgan Rielly to injury, who is also known to stick up for his teammates, it probably wasn't the best idea for Sandin to fight at the time, as his fighting major put the Leafs down to four defensemen. Now, it will be up to Sandin to step up his play as the Leafs may be without Rielly for a few games.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 22 | 335 ANSWERS Matthews comments on Sandin stepping in and dropping the gloves on his behalf How did you feel about Sandin dropping the mitts for Matthews? | ||
| Sandin shouldn't be fighting anyone | 39 | 11.6 % |
| Matthews can fight his own battles | 44 | 13.1 % |
| Loved it! We need more of that from the team | 252 | 75.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
