Leafs embrace road support, repay fans in Winnipeg with OT win
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WINNIPEG – When the Toronto Maple Leafs arrived in Winnipeg Friday night, the temperature was cold but a sight warmed them up.
Leafs fans greeted them at the team hotel, followed up by plenty of fans cheering for them at Canada Life Centre on Saturday.
The out-of-town foes rewarded them with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Winnipeg Jets.
“It’s unreal. We’ve got the best fans in the world and it’s not even close,” said Leafs forward Max Domi. “It’s great to see their support on the road, even around the hotel and stuff.
“(Friday) night, we got in and it was freezing cold and pitch black and we had like, I don’t know, 100 fans waiting for us. I think that just speaks volumes to the support we have. We’re very lucky and we embrace it for sure.”
Domi provided the game-winner, scoring at 3:08 of overtime on a two-on-one with Auston Matthews.
How confident was the Winnipeg-born Domi that Matthews was going to pass the puck to him?
“Pretty confident,” Domi said. “Almost as confident as me giving it back to him, but then I had to shoot it.”
Domi had an open side of the net and fired the puck over the stick of sprawling goalie Connor Hellebuyck.
Domi also picked up an assist, Matthews scored his 24th goal of the season and Oliver Ekman-Larsson had a goal and two assists. Bobby McMann also scored for the Leafs (24-16-8) and Morgan Rielly added two helpers.
Dennis Hildeby stopped 27 shots for Toronto, which ended a four-game road trip going 2-1-1.
Winnipeg has lost its last four home games against Toronto, with the previous victory on Dec. 5, 2021.
Ekman-Larsson appreciated the cheers from Leafs fans, many clad in the Ontario team’s jerseys.
“It’s great coming here,” he said. “Obviously, a lot of Leafs fans and a loud building. It was a good test for us at the end of the road trip.”
The loss halted Winnipeg’s win streak at four games.
Alex Iafallo, Kyle Connor and Nino Niederreiter scored for the Jets (19-22-6) in front of their fifth sellout of the season and Hellebuyck made 33 saves.
The Jets held a 3-1 lead early in the third period, but McMann’s 15th goal of the season tied it up with 4:27 remaining in regulation when he tipped in an Ekman-Larsson shot through traffic.
“All the way through, the crowd was pretty loud today,” McMann said. “Had a few Leafs fans here, that was nice, just kind of feeding off that energy.”
Winnipeg went on the power play with 3:13 remaining in regulation because of a Matthew Knies’ penalty for high-sticking. A shot by Jonathan Toews hit the crossbar and stayed out.
The Jets had a 2-0 lead with Connor’s goal at 8:59 of the second period, but Matthews scored 23 seconds later.
He was booed by some Jets fans, who often target the opposition’s best player.
“I don’t mind it,” Matthews said. “I mean, they’re not booing for no reason. I don’t know., you just take it as it is and you just have fun with it.”
Leafs head coach Craig Berube said Matthews had a strong game.
“He was skating and attacking all game. He had his legs, and that line was really good for us,” he said. “But it was a good team effort. I thought everybody contributed and did a good job tonight.”
Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey, who was the lone defender on Domi’s goal, enjoyed the atmosphere — even with the pro-Leafs fans.
“Every time the Leafs are in town, it’s always a rowdy atmosphere,” Morrissey said. “Obviously, their fans travel really well, so it was a fun game.”
Niederreiter snapped a 21-game goal drought with his seventh marker of the season that made it 3-1 at 2:28 of the third period.
“It felt good to get on the board, but at the same time, you wish you could have won that game. That would have made it even better,” he said.
Jets head coach Scott Arniel liked picking up a point with the loss, but wanted two.
“It still kind of rubs me the wrong way,” he said. “At the end of the day we have to find a way. We had that one and we should have finished it, find a way to finish it, that is part of our jobs.”
He was disappointed Winnipeg’s two-goal lead evaporated.
“That’s what we talk about, trying to find a way to finish that game off,” Morrissey said. “But disappointing. We managed to get a point and we try to keep going.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 18, 2026.