Toronto Maple Leafs need Auston Matthews to find another gear in playoffs
As dire as things can seem following the Toronto Maple Leafs, it’s hard to find too much to complain about right now.
Toronto is without No. 1 goalie Anthony Stolarz after he suffered a head injury in Game 1 against the Florida Panthers, but the team’s still found a way to take a 2-0 lead over the defending Stanley Cup champions in their second-round series.
Toronto is hovering around a 20 per cent shot at winning it all this year, as this is the most wins they’ve picked up in a playoff run since way back in 2004.
And yet, it’s weird to say that Toronto’s consensus best player, captain Auston Matthews, has been just alright so far this playoff run compared to his standards.
He’s tied for 16th in playoff scoring, which isn’t otherworldly, but just slightly below his 1.16 points per game pace from the regular season this year, which saw him 10th in that category.
After a gargantuan 2023-24 season where Matthews scored a Leafs franchise record 69 regular-season goals, he came back to earth with 33 in 67 games this year. Whether it was battling through an injury or just a bit of bad shooting luck, Matthews turned from a generational force into just another very good offensive player.
Through eight games in the postseason, Matthews has put up two goals and six assists, at an even pace of a point per game thus far. Picking up seven points against Ottawa, he put up a secondary assist on Mitch Marner’s game-winning goal in Game 2 against Florida.
At his current pace, four Leafs have more goals than Matthews, while Marner, Max Pacioretty, Max Domi, and even Oliver Ekman-Larsson have produced as many as Matthews. It might sound like a huge number, but 50 players in the NHL have potted three or more goals so far in this postseason.
It’s not without a lack of trying, as Matthews’ 7.5 shot attempts per game lead the Leafs and are 12th in the NHL thus far throughout the playoffs. His expected goals total of 4.9, per MoneyPuck, ranks fourth in the NHL, trailing only Andrei Svechnikov, Mikko Rantanen, and Nathan MacKinnon.
But Leafs fans know all too well that strong underlying numbers mean little if you can’t get it done when it counts, and Matthews is still waiting for a signature game-breaking moment these playoffs. He’s had just one multi-point game thus far, has just one point on the power play in his last six games, and has just one goal in the Leafs’ last five.
For a player branded as one of the NHL’s premier goal-scorers, there still should be more to come from Matthews based on what we’ve seen so far.
And if the Leafs have any hope in finishing off the Panthers and pushing deeper into the playoffs, they’re going to need Matthews to find that next gear.
- You might also like:
- Sheldon Keefe reflects on 'average' first year away from Toronto Maple Leafs