Matthews good, and sure to get better
The goals have been great, but wait until he gets his legs under him, Babcock says
With six goals in the seven games since returning to the Maple Leafs lineup on Dec. 23, Auston Matthews certainly is putting up the kind of number that impress.
Coach Mike Babcock said his star centre, though, is not quite all the way back.
“The measure of you people is whether he scored or not,” said Babcock. “The measure for me is does he skate? Does he play 200 feet? Does he dominate the game?
“Anytime you’ve been out for periods of time like he has, you don’t skate as good as you normally do. So that’s probably still in process.”
Matthews missed four games in mid-November, believed to be due to a back injury, and six more games in December due to a concussion. He returned for the last game before Christmas against the Rangers.
“I felt good in New York,” Matthews said. “It was tough, because I wasn’t on the ice for a while. You want to get your legs going. But I’ve felt back to normal since I’ve been back.”
ON FAMILIAR TERMS: The Leafs have taken at least three penalties in each of the last six games, hitting four, five and six in that stretch.
“We’re in the box too much and we have to do a better job of that,” Babcock said.
In the meantime, the team’s young players are just beginning to develop a rapport with the officials.
“The way the game goes has an influence on the conversation,” said Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly, an alternate captain. “There’s certain nights when you’re very friendly with them, and certain nights, not as much. But you always try to make sure they understand you don’t mean any disrespect, it’s just competition.” HOME COOKING: After a busy De- cember with 10 of 13 games on the road, the Leafs are in the midst of a six-game home stretch, their longest of the season.
“It’s nice to have these home games,” Matthews said. “You feel like you get worn down on the road. When you’re home, you sleep in your own bed and get back into a routine.”
The Leafs start their annual five- day break on Thursday, following Wednesday’s game against Ottawa, and resume Jan. 16 against St. Louis.
Babcock hopes his players take it upon themselves to skate through their break.
“I think you have to keep the motor running,” he said. “You don’t have to kill yourself each day by going an hour and a half.”
LEFT OUT: It turns out the only thing that kept rookie defenceman Travis Dermott in the minors all year was the fact he’s a left-handed shot. Babcock prefers to pair lefties with righties, and the Leafs have too many lefties — five — to just two righties (Connor Carrick and Roman Polak). Dermott will see time on the right side, despite being a lefty.
“We think he’s a good player, let’s get him in the lineup,” Babcock said.
EXTRA EXTRA: Just past the halfway mark of the season, the Maple Leafs have now won eight games in either overtime or the shootout. They won seven all of last year. They’re 4-1 in the shootout after going 1-8 last year.