Photo credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
The Maple Leafs are showing cracks early, but captain Auston Matthews was clear in his belief that the team’s losses have nothing to do with effort.Another winnable game for the Maple Leafs in Columbus, and another loss in the books, as the Leafs failed to put it all together in a 6-3 loss on a milestone night for John Tavares, who notched his 500th career NHL goal in the third period when the game was already out of reach.
Matthews Lacking In His Performance
Other top six forwards, like Matthew Knies, William Nylander and the aforementioned Tavares are all pulling their weight, producing at least 14 points apiece.
Issues in Toronto Between the Ears, Not on the Ice
Following the loss to Columbus, Matthews spoke with the media, revealing that he believes the Leafs’ struggles have nothing to do with effort, calling their issues more “cerebral” than anything, insinuating that it’s all between the ears.
One line in specific from Matthews that should draw some attention was this one:
“I think it’s just being connected throughout all 5 guys on the ice. I mean, like I said, the effort’s there. I think guys are competing… I think we’ve kind of found our identity — but it’s just that when mistakes happen, they’re just egregious ones.”
Matthews’ comments spoke of a bit of an on-ice disconnect, perhaps lending to the idea that the chemistry is not quite there yet.
The Loss of Marner Stings Some
In my opinion, I think the Leafs are going to be fine. Historically, after slower starts like this, once the Leafs begin to identify problems and work on them, the consistency grows, as does the chemistry.
The bigger concern in my eyes is what’s going on with Matthews, who began the season looking like his old self, producing 4 goals in 5 games before cooling significantly and scoring just once over the past 6 games.
Previously on Maple Leafs Daily