Matthews cold snap? Leafs cool
Rookie overdue for breakout after five-game point drought as Florida swing starts tonight
SUNRISE, FLA.— If anyone is worried that Auston Matthews is in a bit of a slump, with no points in his past five games, it isn’t the rookie himself or even Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock.
“Well, I noticed (Alex Ovechkin) didn’t have a goal in 10 games. I don’t think they’re worried about Ovie. I’m not going to spend too much time worrying about Auston,” said Babcock.
“Auston wants to score every game. He plays hard, he’s competitive. His line did a good job in Carolina (a 3-2 overtime win by the Leafs on Saturday night). There was no room at all.”
Matthews sat in his stall after practice Monday at the BB&T Center — home of Tuesday night’s opponent, the Florida Panthers — knowing the questions were coming. He was, after all, sitting beside season-long linemate Zach Hyman, who had just been grilled about Matthews’ slump.
“It’s just about doing the right things, getting to the net, scoring a dirty one,” Hyman said of Matthews. “Once you get one, they seem to come in bunches. Just play well, play well defensively. The offence will come.
“He’s mature for his age and he handles it well. He’s a great player. The puck is going to go into the net for him.”
Five games without a point ties his longest drought of the year — the beginning of a stretch of 13 games without a goal, starting in late October.
“There are things I can tweak,” said Matthews. “As an offensive player, you want to produce, you want to score goals and help the team win, and right now we’re winning. For me, that’s the most important part.
“You want to get back on the scoresheet, help the team out whatever way you can.”
There is nothing particularly wrong with his game.
He’s getting his usual 17 to 19 minutes of ice time. He’s taking shots.
Power-play time has been at a premium because the opposition has been playing disciplined hockey against the Leafs, the league’s best with the man advantage.
“I just want to play hockey and have fun,” said Matthews. Connor Brown worked out on the right side with Matthews and Hyman on Monday. Babcock routinely flips Brown and William Nylander on that line.
“What I like about Brown with Hyman and Matthews together is they can play against anybody,” said Babcock. “No matter who they match up against, they’re going to play a ton of time in the offensive zone. Nylander and Matthews play more on the rush when they’re together. With Brown, they’re more on the cycle.”
It doesn’t make a difference to Matthews: “I’m a shooter either way. It doesn’t matter who I play with. They’re both different players, but they both make plays.”
The Leafs have strung together a three-game win streak in large part because of their scoring depth. They can live with one line getting blanked because they have scorers all through the lineup.
The Leafs would appear to be masters of their own destiny at this point, with15 games to go and a post-season berth within their grasp.
“It would be huge for all of us,” said Matthews. “It’s been the goal for us the whole year. . . . You live for these moments.”