Matthews takes over goal-scoring lead as Maple Leafs beat Wild

TORONTO — Little has gone right for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the past week.

The team was stuck in a slump with a three-game losing streak. Defenceman Jake Muzzin suffered his second concussion in five weeks, and then, on Wednesday, it was revealed prospect Rodion Amirov had been diagnosed with a brain tumour.

With that heartbreaking news, Auston Matthews scored twice to take over the goal-scoring lead as the Maple Leafs turned in one of their best defensive efforts for a 3-1 win before 9,410 at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.

"Rodion, our hearts and thoughts are with you," Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner said unprompted in his opening post-game remarks. "We hope you get through this. We're beside you and with you."

Before their morning skate, the Maple Leafs assembled for a stick salute as part of a video message for the 2020 first-round draft choice (15th overall). The 20-year-old Amirov is undergoing treatment in Germany after his KHL season was cut short to 10 games.

"It's obviously a difficult thing to be going through," Toronto captain John Tavares said. "But he's in good spirits, fighting hard. We believe in him, and he's a big part of our family here. He has tremendous talent and potential, but as a human being, we know he's very motivated to beat this."

This win wasn't a win-one-for-Rodion moment, according to Matthews. But the ailing young player was on the mind of the Maple Leafs.

"I'm not sure those two things correlate," Matthews said when asked whether the win against the Wild was dedicated to Amirov. "Just hearing the news, we're hoping for him and praying for him."

This game pitted the Wild (31-15-3) with the league's third-best offence against the Maple Leafs' fourth-best (33-14-4). But it turned into a