Auston Matthews might not be 100 per cent healthy.

Whatever pain he is dealing with in that injured wrist and hand, it didn’t stop him from doing this on Thursday night.

Matthews scored his league-leading 21st goal and seventh game winner of the season in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ (-185) 4-3 overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night.

The fact that he was still able to pull off something like that despite dealing with a lingering injury is absolutely remarkable.

Here is the Morning Coffee for Friday March 12, 2021.

AM34 To The Rescue

As someone who has spent the past couple of weeks preaching that the Jets continue to be undervalued by oddsmakers, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take them at +160 again on Thursday night.

Yes, I understand that the Maple Leafs are still the better team.

Yes, I get that Toronto might have played with an added sense of urgency in the midst of a three-game losing streak.

Still, +160 odds looked pretty good for a Winnipeg side that had won six of its previous seven as an underdog heading into Thursday night.

They almost pulled it off, too.

Despite getting completely outplayed, Connor Hellebuyck made too many big saves to keep track  of and the Jets managed to push the Maple Leafs to overtime.

All I could do was tip my cap after Matthews took over with the game on the line in the extra frame.

Maybe the fact that the over (6.5) hit for the second game in a row between these teams helped ease my disappointment of Winnipeg falling short.

Or maybe there are some endings that are just so brilliant that all you can do is smile, even when things don’t play out the way that you had hoped they would.

Flames Win In Sutter’s Debut

Josh Leivo was the hero for the Calgary Flames (-110) as they beat the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 in Darryl Sutter’s first game back as head coach.

Whether it was Sutter’s coaching or a case of tired legs for the Habs, the Flames held Montreal to just 18 shots in the victory.

It was Montreal’s second regulation loss in 15 road games this season.

Calgary will host Montreal again on Saturday before welcoming the Edmonton Oilers for back-to-back games early next week.

It will be interesting to see how the Flames respond with a new voice behind the bench as they try to close the gap on the top four teams in the North Division.

Hawks Stun Raptors At Buzzer

Tony Snell delivered a clutch three for the win at the buzzer as the Atlanta Hawks (-160) beat the Toronto Raptors 121-120.

Toronto covered as a three-point underdog.

With the win, the Hawks officially moved into a tie with Toronto for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

Considering how tight the standings are in the East, it’s fair to wonder how the loss could impact the playoff race.

TSN Raptors beat reporter Josh Lewenberg did exactly that.

The Raptors aren’t in the conversation for an Atlantic Division title, and they aren’t going to win an Eastern Conference title.

Still, they were -750 to make the playoffs at the start of the month and +490 to miss them.

How concerned should fans be?

After dropping five of their past six, the Raptors will head out on a three-game road trip that includes games against the Charlotte Hornets and Chicago Bulls before returning to Tampa to host the Western Conference-leading Utah Jazz.

Per Lewenberg, Toronto’s five players in the COVID protocol aren’t expected to return until next week at the earliest.

It might not seem like it now, but the Raptors could be in a very difficult situation if they don’t find a way to rally against Charlotte and Chicago without those key players.