Auston Matthews addresses bizarre stick incident with Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins

The Toronto Maple Leafs were on the wrong side of a lopsided encounter against the Blue Jackets. In an even more bizarre incident for the Leafs, their captain, Auston Matthews, exchanged sticks with the opposite goalie, Elvis Merzilkins.

With 6:26 left in the first period, Matthews was nearing the Blue Jackets' goal. Scrambling for the puck, Merzilkins lost his stick and grabbed Matthews'. With the puck still alive and in play, the forward took the netminder's stick lying on the ground.

The referees immediately intervened, giving Matthews a minor penalty for using illegal equipment. They also issued one to Elvis for the same reason that Dimitri Voronkov served.

In the postgame interview, Matthews acknowledged he didn't know the rule regarding exchanging sticks.

“Yeah, he took my stick out of my hand, so I just saw his stick and decided to play with his for a second,” Matthews said. “So, I mean, yeah, I don't know. I've got to read the rule book, I guess.”

The incident left the Leafs at a disadvantage even with a 4-on-4 with their best player in the penalty box. Their manager also felt the weirdness of the incident.

“No, I don't think so. No, I haven't (seen anything like it),” Berube said after the game. 'That was a weird exchange. I'll tell you that. He's got the goaltender’s stick for about two seconds.”

Auston Matthews rallies Leafs fans for more energy

Within two minutes of the game, two super heavyweights, Leafs' Ryan Reaves and Blue Jackets' Mathieu Olivier, got into a fistfight. Reaves seemed to land more punches on his counterpart after briefly losing balance. However, the crowd didn't cheer as much for their homeboy as per Auston Matthews. Adding in his postgame interview, Mathews said he expected more from them.

"Love to see that," Matthews said. "Would've liked a little more energy from the crowd after that. It was a little quiet tonight, especially after two guys like that go at it. But it was a great moment for him. I thought gave us some energy on the bench."

Matthews scored the '1' in the 5-1 scoreline for the Leafs. He is on a five-game goalscoring streak and has picked up nine goals after returning to the Leafs lineup following a layoff. They face the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.