In assessing Auston Matthews’ playoff performance, two things can be true:
1. The Toronto Maple Leafs captain impacts games beyond scoring goals, winning key faceoffs and taking on tough defensive assignments.
2. He needs to score more goals.
Matthews has yet to put the puck in the net against the Florida Panthers, who have knotted the second-round series after falling behind 2-0. The NHL’s most prolific scorer of the past nine years has three goals in his past 20 playoff games dating to the start of the Maple Leafs-Panthers series in 2023.
“I get it, but he does a lot of other things in the game that really dictate things and does a great job with a lot of other areas of the game,” Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube told reporters Monday when asked about Matthews’ scoring drought. “He’s just got to keep focusing on that. He’s going to get his looks, and (he) just (needs to) stick with what he’s doing and (not) get too frustrated with anything, because it’s not just about scoring goals.”
Despite the results, Matthews has been active on the offensive end against the Panthers, ranking first on the Maple Leafs in slot shots on net (10) and second in scoring chances (16) behind John Tavares (18) in all situations. Matthews’ average of four scoring chances per game against Florida is in line with the 4.04 he averaged during the regular season, which led the league.
Accuracy is not a glaring issue, either. Matthews has hit the net on 16 of his 26 shot attempts (61.5 per cent) and 10 of his 16 scoring chances (62.5 per cent) in the second round. That is an improvement from his performance against the Ottawa Senators; Matthews connected on 53.7 per cent of his shot attempts (22 of 41) and 45.5 per cent of his scoring chances (10 of 22) in six first-round games, respectively. The percentage of Matthews’ shot attempts that are one-timers is up as well, jumping from 12.2 per cent against the Senators to 19.2 per cent against the Panthers. (The velocity of Matthews’ shot is down, however, leading to questions about his health.)
Matthews is also getting himself open in dangerous scoring areas. His 14 slot-pass receptions are tied for fourth most in the league since the second round began.
Overall, Matthews has scored 2.4 fewer goals than expected in the playoffs, ahead of only Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn (3.8 goals scored below expected).
“The chances have been there,” Matthews told reporters following Toronto’s 2-0 loss in Game 4. “I think I’ve just got to do a better job of bearing down on some of them. I think for the most part throughout the four games, we’ve been winning shifts, generating chances against tough matchups. But obviously you want to score. I want to score.”
Those statements are mostly true. Matthews’ line with Mitch Marner and Matthew Knies has won the battle against Selke Trophy finalists Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart on the scoreboard, outscoring them 4-1 at 5-on-5. Toronto is up 5-2 against Florida in goals at 5-on-5 when Matthews has been on the ice, and scoring chances are 21-20 in the Maple Leafs’ favour.
When the series shifted to South Florida, Panthers coach Paul Maurice pivoted to Anton Lundell’s line with Eetu Luostarinen and Brad Marchand as the primary cover for Matthews’ line. Although the Maple Leafs had a significant territorial advantage when Matthews’ and Lundell’s lines went head-to-head, they came up with just one goal at 5-on-5 — Morgan Rielly’s game-tying goal in the third period of Game 3.
Two years ago, Matthews failed to score in the Maple Leafs’ second-round loss to the Panthers, meaning he has zero goals in nine career playoff games against Florida. He has deserved better; Matthews’ shot quality against the Panthers is identical to his average in the other 17 playoff games he has played over the past three years. The Panthers have not done anything special to contain him.
Outside of scoring, Matthews is producing impressive numbers. His 70 defensive plays are second most among all forwards this post-season. That includes 33 blocked passes and 21 stick checks, the latter of which leads all forwards. In the faceoff circle, his 57.4 win percentage is fifth best out of 47 qualified skaters who have taken at least 15 per cent of their team’s total draws.
Much of the data supports the notion that Matthews is mired in bad luck. The Maple Leafs, however, need him to turn expected goals into actual ones to get past the Panthers.
“Big goal’s coming. That’s the way you’ve got to think about it,” Berube told reporters. “He’s doing a good job. He’s doing a lot of good things for us. I get it. The puck’s not going in the net for him, but it’s not all about scoring.
“He’s out there killing penalties. He’s going against top lines. He’s checking. He’s working. He’s competing. A lot of good stuff. Yeah, we’d like him to score, and so would he. It’s not easy to score in the playoffs. I’m not overly worried about it.”
All stats via Sportlogiq
More from Sportsnet Leafs Thoughts: Auston Matthews must take the lead with series tied 2-2‘Outplayed’ Maple Leafs must adjust quick as Panthers impose their will
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( What’s behind Auston Matthews’ goal scoring woes? )
Also on site :