Photo credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews made some history for the wrong reasons as his scoring woes continue during the 2025-26 season.
He finished without a point, and has been a shell of his former self. Things are getting concerning, he’s not shooting the puck like he has in the past, he’s slower, and there just isn’t that dominant presence anymore. He’s been good, but not the elite player Toronto needs.
In fact, things have not been this bad for Matthews in a long time.
Matthews pointless streak reaches longest in six years
According to Jame Mirtle, Matthews has been held pointless for the fourth straight game, marking the first time it’s happened since October 2018:
During October 18-27 of that year, Matthews was held pointless and was a minus-two, but then scored 10 points in his next five games, so if history is to repeat itself; the Leafs will gladly take that kind of production.
Is Auston Matthews hurt or just average now?
Matthews had zeroes across the board against Pittsburgh, and only mustered three shots. Granted, he had a new linemate in Bobby McMann and the trio of him, Matthews and Max Domi brought more energy to the top line that’s been missing.
If he’s healthy and this is just the Auston we’re getting now, then that’s a bad sign for the future because Toronto has a lot of money committed to a guy who might never hit 50 goals again.
Maybe the holiday break is exactly what he needs to mentally reset himself and take the confidence the team has built up on Tuesday to come out swinging against Ottawa on the 27th.
For the captain, who has 48 points in 35 career games against the Senators; that’s the perfect chance for him to make his comeback and lead the team to glory after so much turmoil and tension.
Previously on Hockey Patrol