WHAT’S UP?
Most glittery Leafs star in decades tries to explain why he’s spinning his wheels
It was Mark Masters of TSN who, at the end of an unusually long scrum with Auston Matthews, asked the Toronto Maple Leafs stud about some extra on-ice work he has been putting in with the team’s player development consultant in recent days.
There was a bit of an exasperated sigh from Matthews, the first hint that maybe he’s had enough scrutinizing of his un-Auston goal production over the past couple of weeks.
“Yeah, I don’t know, Mark. Just stuff. Stuff.
I don’t have 10 minutes to get into detail.”
There’s nothing worrisome about the 21year-old’s deadeye shot or his zippy release or that signature toe drag thing.
At least nothing that, say, some more ice time — as befits his straw-that-stirs-the-drink status — might not rectify.
Or maybe deployment on Toronto’s first power-play unit, which coach Mike Babcock seems loath to implement.
Seriously, if Matthews decides to play hardball on a new contract this summer as a restricted free agent, money might not be the obstacle.
Despite his hockey splendour, the most glittery Leafs star in decades, perhaps ever, isn’t always treated with the institutional respect he merits.
At Sunday practice, the first power-play unit was composed of John Tavares, Mitch Marner, Kasperi Kapanen, Nazem Kadri and Morgan Rielly.
In the previous evening’s 3-2 loss to Boston, the Toronto power play had finally come off its 0-for-10 schneid, courtesy of Marner, on a delectable no-look pass from Kadri.
Who knows what churns in the Babcock brain?
It’s hard to figure why a team blessed with offensive riches is merely eighth in the NHL in power-play goals, with a 22.6 per cent success rate, after blowing off the doors to start the season.
Or why they’ve drawn fewer man-advantage opportunities (115) than any other team in the league, particularly given their speed, which logic would suggest should result in more clutching and felonious obstruction from opponents.
When the query is put to Babcock, he demurs, claiming it’s not his place to question officiating, at least not for public consumption. But that wasn’t really the question.
Toronto has hit a slightly scuffling tract, going 2-4 since the end of December. Some of that drag is reflected in Matthews’ numbers: Three goals in the past 10 games, two of them on Dec. 20 against Florida, and eight assists. Pretty decent, just not the expected Auston.
Yet Matthews claims he’s felt better than ever over the past three games and Babcock noted that his marquee centre — co-marquee with Tavares, at least — is “skating better than he has since he’s come back” from a shoulder injury that cost him 14 games.
His linemates haven’t been constant and even Babcock seems now to have acknowledged that putting the struggling William Nylander on his right flank was a bust.
Lousy puck luck has a small something to do with Matthews spinning his wheels. On Saturday, with about four minutes left in regulation time, a rolling puck thwarted his backhand attempt in what had goal written all over it. “It just rolled off my stick, so not much you can do.”
Yet Matthews emphasized that his line, with Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson, had kick against Boston. Eight shots got through.
What’s felt energizing to him these past few games: “We’re holding on to the puck a lot more, making plays when the opportunities are there. They’re just not going in the back of the net.
“It gets frustrating at times. But, at the same time, when you’re looking at it, I think it’s a better situation to be in. You’re generating all these chances, you’ve got the puck on your stick, you’re having these nights when you get five, six, seven shots on net and they’re good, high-scoring chances. It’s just a matter for it to get rolling.”
In his third year in the NHL, Matthews has learned to roll with the slumpy spots.
“It’s a bit easier now. Mentally you just kind of block it out, not worry about it too much. Continue to work hard and do what you’re doing to be successful. Just push it aside and keep going.”
Last week, Matthews suggested, mildly, that the power play had become a mite too predictable and opponents had adjusted to Toronto’s attack system.
The term he prefers is “stale.”
“Not moving the puck enough, sometimes just thinking too much with it instead of just making decent plays, simple plays, just shooting the puck and going from there. We’re kind of getting back to that.
“We’ve had games where we’ve generated plenty of chances and the puck didn’t go in or we’ve had games where we had no chances. Like I said, the power play was just stale. Hopefully we kind of get in a rhythm.”
Presumably, when the Leafs host Colorado on Monday, Matthews will remain with Kapanen and Johnsson. But, again, who knows?
One thing that does appear likely — though Babcock wasn’t confirming it yet — is that Freddie Andersen will be back between the pipes after being sidelined seven games with a groin issue, then a no go on Saturday, felled by flu. “I definitely feel ready to go,’” he said, apparently recovered. “We’ll see.”
Andersen showed no mercy in practice against the “snake-bit” guys either because easing their frustration is not part of his remit.
“No, I think you have to try and be harder on them. Make them compete even more to try and score. I don’t think letting people score will make anyone better.
“It’s a battle and we compete with each other out there. That’s going to benefit everyone in the end.” Suck it, Auston.