Matthews ready for deep run
At his most complete self, star is insulated by toughest lineup he has had
Maybe the most impressive part about Auston Matthews’ chase for a historic 70-goal season is that the heartbeat of the Maple Leafs isn’t chasing anything. He’s just that good.
A couple of weeks ago the chance to hit the milestone seemed like it might be slipping away, but with seven goals over his last six games, Matthews is suddenly at 66 goals with four games left to play.
Nothing is worse for team morale than watching a player put personal accolades ahead of the needs of the team, but that certainly hasn’t been the case here. When you factor in the way the 26-year-old is conducting himself down the stretch during his best season to date, it becomes even more impressive.
“I find when you really, I don’t know, maybe overthink it and kind of almost want it too much, it almost doesn’t go your way,” Matthews said after Wednesday night’s win over New Jersey when asked about closing in on 70. “So I just try to approach every game the same.”
Not only is Matthews saying all the right things, but he’s playing the right way, too. In fact, his overall game has never looked better. He is the most complete player he has been in his eight NHL seasons.
He is elevating the play of his teammates — it’s no coincidence Max Domi’s season is peaking on the top line since stepping in for the injured Mitch Marner — he’s contributing defensively and he’s thriving in the role coach Sheldon Keefe always envisioned for him: a reliable facilitator.
Right now, everything runs through Matthews. The fact that he’s doing it while scoring more goals than Alexander Ovechkin ever did in a season shows an admirable level of maturity from the best scorer Leafs fans have seen.
With this complete version of Matthews insulated by the toughest Leafs lineup we’ve seen over his tenure here, it suggests Toronto might finally be ready for a deep playoff run after seven disappointing attempts.
The trick now is for Matthews to be that same guy in the post-season. And he knows it, too.
“Obviously, we’re winding down here the last couple of games, and just want to make sure, myself individually and as a team, we’re doing the right things night in night out, on both sides of the puck, that (are) gonna translate here in the postseason,” Matthews said Wednesday.
While his 22 career playoff goals in 50 games would look spectacular on the back of my hockey card, it’s not overly impressive for a guy who scores in the regular season at a much higher rate.
That’s going to have to change, because Leafs Nation is ready to put a 57-year drought strictly on Matthews’ shoulders.
It’s hard to fathom what that weight might feel like.
The closest I got to witnessing that level of stress on a world-class talent was watching Mark Messier and Brian Leetch end a 54-year Cup drought in New York.
Messier had five other years of winning the Cup in Edmonton to help draw from. Leetch was a different story.
Similar to Matthews, Leetch had won individual accolades — a Norris Trophy in 1992 — but had never made it past the second round in the playoffs before our breakthrough season.
And like Matthews, Leetch was 26 years old when he carried that pressure into those 1994 playoffs. He delivered with 11 goals and 23 assists in 23 games, earning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
I’ll never forget what he said seconds after the clock ran out in Game 7 of our Stanley Cup final against the Canucks. There was no immediate jubilation, just a sense of relief as he quietly uttered the words: “Thank God it’s over.”
I’m not here to pile more pressure on Matthews than he must already feel, but that is the kind of burden he will carry into this post-season. And he has never looked more ready to do it.
We’ve spent a good chunk of this NHL season watching and wondering if Matthews could be the first player since Teemu Selanne and Alexander Mogilny in 1992-93 to score 70 goals. When the puck drops in the playoffs, it will all be a distant memory and Leafs fans will be the first to remind him of that if the best regular-season goal scorer doesn’t carry that over into the playoffs.
While we all know John Tavares still wears the “C” on the jersey, make no mistake, this is Matthews’ team. It’s time for him to put the Leafs on his back.