Matthews has ‘elite drive to be great’
Coach lauds star on six-game goal streak
Auston Matthews won’t simply rely on his natural talent to separate himself from the majority of the National Hockey League.
The Toronto Maple Leafs superstar could get by, no doubt, and still make a significant impact, but there he was on Friday, taking some time to work on his shot before practice at the Ford Performance Centre.
“you can’t put limitations on players of his calibre, both in the sense that he has elite talent and he has elite drive to be great,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.
“Whether it’s off-season or in-season, he wants to get the reps. We know the dangerous weapon that he has, but I don’t think he gets enough credit for the fact that he scores in so many different ways, different types of shots, far away from the net, close to the net, rebounds, tips. That’s probably most impressive.”
When the Leafs and Vancouver Canucks meet at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night — following the 7-3 Leafs’ thrashing of the Canucks on Thursday — Matthews will try to accomplish a feat he has not yet put on his NHL resumé.
With at least one goal in the past six games he has played, Matthews will attempt to score in seven games in a row in one season for the first time in his career.
“One of the things that separates him from a lot of guys is how consistent he is and how he continues to create chances for himself every game,” Leafs winger Zach Hyman
said. “If he doesn’t score in one game, he has a couple of looks. He’s an elite finisher, able to capitalize on those chances and he has really developed his 200-foot game.”
Prior to NHL games on Friday, Matthews was second in the NHL with 46 shots on goal. He has eight goals in 10 games.
sorry, sandin
With practice done, Keefe skated over to rasmus Sandin, put his gloved hand on the defenceman’s shoulder and started a chat.
Travis dermott didn’t practise and won’t play on Saturday after suffering a charley horse on Thursday, but it won’t be Sandin taking dermott’s spot.
That responsibility falls on the shoulders of Mikko Lehtonen, who gets another shot to demonstrate he is worthy of being in an NHL lineup.
Lehtonen will play in his fifth game; Sandin, who played in 28 games for the Leafs in 2019-20, has yet to appear in one this season.
“I was just letting him know that Mikko is going to go again and I was just checking in with him,” Keefe said. “When he sees a guy go down, that’s when a player would start to think that maybe it’s going to be his chance, but that’s not quite it yet.”
We’re guessing it might
have dawned on Sandin during practice that he would not be playing. His defence partner was forward Adam brooks, while Lehtonen was on the third pair with Zach bogosian.
The continuing decision to not insert Sandin is a head-scratcher. Lehtonen has looked uncomfortable in games to the point that Keefe had to resort to saying the 27-year-old had his “best practice” with the Leafs on Friday, even though the workout was relatively short.
Lehtonen, the free agent signing, has been handed a long leash. Sandin, the Leafs’ 2018 first-round pick and one of their top prospects, has no leash at all. you would think the longer his absence goes, the harder it will be for him to make a positive impression once he gets in.
The role of spectator can’t be doing much good for Sandin’s development, never mind his confidence. He has not played in a game since March 10, two days before the coronavirus pandemic caused the NHL to close its doors.
“I was reminding him that we haven’t forgotten who rasmus is and we know what he can bring,” Keefe said.
“His time will come. He just has to remain patient as we go through this.”
fourth a force
Keefe won’t make a change to his fourth line, keeping the trio of Jason Spezza, Travis boyd and Nic Petan intact.
The line was strong in all three zones on Thursday and clicked nicely on Spezza’s second goal.
“They created a lot, they had the puck a lot,” Keefe said.
“They carried the play, they won shifts, changed in the offensive zone and set up the next line really well.
“My message to them is (Thursday) was a game where most things went our way. The games are going to be more difficult and there’s other areas in the game that they will be challenged on, and that’s where we want to see that detail, the competitiveness, the physicality, all those things brought out in that type of environment.”
Loose Leafs
Thursday marked the 29th time Matthews has scored two goals, but not a third, in an NHL game. Twice he has scored at least three goals … Spezza is two points shy of 950 for his NHL career. His next point will tie him with Vincent Lecavalier for 103rd overall in scoring in NHL history … After winning four in a row, the Canucks will be attempting to avoid a four-game losing streak. “No matter what, you have to come to the rink the next game and be excited to play,” Canucks coach Travis Green said. “No one is happy when you lose. everyone is happy when you win.” Vancouver is 3-0 against the sadsack Ottawa Senators and 3-8 against the rest of the North division … Keefe said he had no update on a possible return for goalie Jack Campbell, who has been out since suffering a leg injury against Calgary on Jan. 24 … Goalie Frederik Andersen on what he likes in Spezza: “My favourite part is probably the amount of time he spends on his sticks. That’s his thing.” … Hyman on Spezza’s hat trick on Thursday: “I was joking around with him that the skill development guys are going to be going crazy after his night.”