20-year-old Maple Leafs forward makes his feeling known on netting first NHL goal alongside John Tavares

Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Easton Cowan scored his first NHL goal on Saturday night in Philadelphia. The goal came 33 seconds into the third period. Cowan took a pass from John Tavares and scored to make it 4-1. The play forced Philadelphia Flyers goalie Dan Vladar out of the game, and later the Maple Leafs went on to win 5-2.

After the game, Cowan shared how special the moment was.

“It felt good… you want to score," Cowan said. "In the first eight games I played, I didn’t. So I just stuck with it in practice, kept getting better, and I’m gonna keep doing that. It always felt like it was just a matter of time, you know? I stuck with it.

Speaking about alternate captain and veteran forward John Tavares, Cowan said, he is a great teammate and leader.

"I live with him a lot, so to be able to share that moment with him is awesome," Cowan said. "I want to play beside him — just an unreal guy and an even better player. What a feeling to do it for your hometown team. I wouldn’t want to play anywhere else, that’s for sure."

Cowan has three points in his last five games and four total this season. His confidence continues to grow with more ice time. Earlier in October, he did not make the opening roster. But, despite that, Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving had praised his strong camp performance.

"Easton has had a really good camp," Treliving said. "He's right there ready to play for us. We want to manage it appropriately. If he's going to be playing with us here, great, but if not, I want him playing."

Now, the Maple Leafs have a 6-5-1 record to start the 2025-26 season, with Tavares and William Nylander leading the offense.

Matthews' "no panic" comment after Maple Leafs' win

The Toronto Maple Leafs won the game 5-2 against the Philadelphia Flyers, but it was the Flyers who had the lead first. Christian Dvorak scored first for the Flyers in the opening period. Auston Matthews tied it with a wrist shot and said,

"Obviously, going down early, I just thought there was no panic in our room... we played the way that we need to play to be successful over 60 minutes."

In the second period, Jake McCabe scored from the blue line, and Nicholas Robertson added another on a pass from Matthew Knies. Easton Cowan scored fourth before Tyson Foerster cut the lead to 4-2. However, Calle Jarnkrok sealed the win with an empty-net goal.