Not good when Auston Matthews must push Leafs twice in same week
Article content
Auston Matthews now knows what it’s like to be in the dress shoes of Mike Babcock, Sheldon Keefe and even Craig Berube, trying to explain the inexplicable.
His various coaches often grappled during game post-mortems with how a very good Maple Leafs team could look so dominant for a couple of nights, particularly against top teams, then play so poorly — some would say play down to the level of its competition — versus the weaker sides.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Not good when Auston Matthews must push Leafs twice in same week Back to video
As Toronto’s new captain and dressing room spokesman, Matthews has had to find the right tone of revulsion and revision twice in less than a week and get his mates to listen.
The latest came Saturday in Nashville where the Leafs, up 2-0 on the NHL’s lowest-scoring team, saw the Predators turn the tables to score five in a row.
Puzzling efforts such as that have long been a drag on the Leafs’ chances to win a division that’s so hard to escape in playoffs without a high seed.
After last Monday’s home loss, when Ottawa showed the fire the Leafs lacked as it fights for a wild-card berth, Matthews spoke up for the first time, backing his words with two strong games.
But he was on the spot again Saturday after the Leafs missed a glorious opportunity to take back first place in the Atlantic, following losses earlier in the evening by Florida and Tampa Bay. The Panthers moved ahead Sunday, the Lightning remain two back.
Matthews had two assists against the Preds, though after winning the draw on a Mitch Marner goal, had an off-night in the dots and hit the net on just three of his seven shot attempts.
“We definitely let up a bit,” Matthews told the media in Nashville. “We started off with good legs, good energy, good life. They played a good, solid game, their goalie (Juuse Saros) played well. But we could’ve done a better job offensively, defensively. It just seemed there were too many ‘hope’ plays. It didn’t seem we had the physicality and urgency in the second half of the game.
“The inconsistencies are not ideal, especially at this time of year when we have a bad outing, string together a couple of good games, then have kind of another letdown like this. That’s on us to make sure we’re consistent no matter what the situation and what the game presents. You need all 20 guys being on the same page at all times.”
Berube didn’t prod this group to 42 wins by not adhering to all of the above. But if the Leafs fall short by a point or two after Game 82 next month, they’ll rue the Nashville setback, a shootout loss to San Jose after blowing a two-goal third-period lead, and a pair of losses to Vancouver, all occurring in the New Year when they should be locking down.
Berube made a point Saturday morning that the Leafs shouldn’t even look at the board at how low the Predators were ranked, just worry about themselves.
“We understand that any given night, no matter who we’re playing, we’ll get teams’ best games,” Matthews added. “That (complacency facing non-playoff teams) is going in one ear and out the other. We know they’ll compete and work, it doesn’t matter where teams are in the standings. If you go out there and are out-worked and out-competed, it’s going to be a hard game for you, no matter what.
“We strung together a couple of good games, beat a couple of good teams. We know we won’t have the best game every night, or win every single game, but tonight was definitely one we wanted to finish off this little trip on the right foot, go back home with good energy in the room.”
Former captain John Tavares said the Leafs should be “pissed off” at how they didn’t follow up Thursday’s 4-3 win in New York, assuring that motivation for Tuesday’s game against Philadelphia would not be an issue.
Before their game Sunday in Chicago (the Leafs were off), the fading Flyers had lost four straight, just like Nashville had prior to Toronto’s visit, all to playoff-bound teams.
“We have one game left before we go out west,” Matthews said. “We’re up and at ’em.”
Let’s see who’s paying heed.
ONE-TIMER WORKS WONDERS
When executed to perfection, few plays in hockey are more impressive to watch than a one-timer from a won draw.
Matthews and Marner pulled it off on Toronto’s second goal Saturday in Nashville, Matthews cleanly getting the faceoff to his left against Colton Sissons right to Marner. The latter drilled it past Saros before defender Justin Barron could close the gap. Elapsed time was less than two seconds.
“It’s planned, it just depends on the person you’re going against,” Matthews said. “(Sissons) is good, he’s strong in the dot, I just had a draw inside, had to time it quick and made sure (Marner) knew I was coming to him.
“It ended up working out, but we lost, so who cares?”
X: @sunhornby
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.