I Watched This Game: The Auston Matthews Edition

"I Watched This Game" makes a return this season, and what a better way to kick it off than the NHL debut of the 2016 first overall pick Auston Matthews. The Toronto Maple Leafs traveled to Ottawa to take on provincial rival Senators, and it was certainly an entertaining game.

The highlights, as written from the Senators fan perspective, since I opted for the 2006 red Senators sweater and ended up getting paired with a couple of Maple Leafs fans in a sea of Blues and Blackhawks fans.

• The Sens' intro was pretty creepy, as the players' faces were on the back screen as they were being introduced one-by-one.
• That didn't take long, as Matthews scored his first goal on a nice behind the goal pass by Zach Hyman found Matthews in front, and he didn't miss.
• The Sens tie it up after Erik Karlsson's shot gets knocked down by Bobby Ryan in front, who finds the puck quickly and deposits it past Frederik Andersen. If the Sens can get 30 goals from Ryan, they will finally be getting the player that they thought they were getting.
• The Sens take the lead on a laser from the blue line by Karlsson. In case you forgot, he was the team's leading scorer for a reason.
• Matthews scores number two on a nice drive to the net after pick-pocketing a Sens player in the neutral zone.
• DAMN YOU, AUSTON MATTHEWS! A hat trick in the second period puts the Leafs back up by one.
• Derick Brassard ties things back up after another Leafs relapse defensively. Remember this, as it will be important later.
• DAMN YOU, AUSTON MATTHEWS...AGAIN! A give and go with William Nylander sees Matthews put the Leafs back up by one.
• Kyle Turris sends the game to overtime as he scores, and in the process, is showing that the injury issues of last season are behind him.
• Turris scores the game winner in overtime after Matthews fails to cover Turris in time.

The Leafs-Sens match-up was nothing short of exciting on both ends. While Matthews was a dynamic force offensively, he also has a few things to clean up before he can be the player he wants to be, though he did own up to the mistake in overtime that sent the Leafs home with just the one point. Also, you do have to play defense, and the Leafs far too often, had some trouble with that, as for every goal they scored, the Senators had an answer. Similarly, the same could be said for the Sens, though Craig Anderson did bail them out a handful of times, stopping Mitch Marner on a shot.