"Literally no similarities" - NHL fans left debating over Auston Matthews' old goal celebrations in light of Ridly Greig incident

Recently, the hockey community on X found itself embroiled in a debate sparked by a viral video of the Toronto Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews engaging in what some deemed as an excessive goal celebration. The discussion was brought into the limelight after Leafs fans recently advocated for Morgan Rielly's hit on Ridly Greig.

The controversy unfolded when a fan shared an old video of Auston Matthews celebrating a goal by making a hand gesture toward the goalpost. The caption read:

"Can someone explain to me why this is good sportsmanship and doesn’t deserve a cross check to the head during his celly? How is this any better than Grieg shooting a puck into an empty net?"

The Matthews video quickly caught the attention of NHL enthusiasts 3wa. One fan defended Matthews, explaining that the hand gesture was directed toward the referees:

"Net isn't empty and the action was intended for the refs/review team for disallowing his previous goal. Quite literally no similarities."

Another fan distinguished goal celebrations and poor sportsmanship:

"And the others are goal celebrations which have always been okay to go over the top ( old school domi riding a stick). If you don’t understand how taking a clapper from 3 feet away is poor sportsmanship then you don’t understand hockey"

Furthermore, another voice in the debate pointed out the specific circumstances surrounding Auston Matthews' celebrations:

"First clip you posted is directed towards the Ref/Situation room as a goal prior for Matthews was waived off - Completely different scenario than Greig. 2nd clip was him giving the “Let me hear you” to the Chicago crowd, again - completely different situation than Greig."

Bobby McMann saved the day as Auston Matthews went pointless

Bobby McMann secured his first NHL hat trick as the undermanned Toronto Maple Leafs triumphed 4-1 against the St. Louis Blues. With star players Mitch Marner and John Tavares sidelined, and defenseman Morgan Rielly serving a five-game suspension, McMann's heroics, along with William Nylander's goal, sealed the victory.

Coach Sheldon Keefe praised the team:

“We needed guys to step up in different ways. We had a lot of great efforts.”

McMann, an undrafted winger, reflected on his journey to success:

“As you get more comfortable, you can try more things. You get a little bit more ice time, a little bit more trust with the coach."

Auston Matthews did go pointless in the game. McMann's remarkable performance, including a memorable empty-netter, capped off a challenging day for Toronto.