{"id":500235,"date":"2026-03-12T22:07:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T22:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/500235\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T22:07:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T22:07:11","slug":"toronto-maple-leafs-rookie-easton-cowan-hopes-to-help-auston-matthews-break-lengthy-scoring-drought-against-anaheim-ducks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/500235\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Easton Cowan hopes to help Auston Matthews break lengthy scoring drought against Anaheim Ducks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Auston Matthews<\/a> is mired in his longest goal drought since his rookie season. Perhaps a current Leafs rookie can help him snap the slump. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fun playing with the captain,\u201d said 20-year-old winger Easton Cowan<\/a>. \u201cHe\u2019s a good guy, too, so [I\u2019m] just looking to support him all over the ice and make some plays … Hopefully I can help him break that drought tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cowan earned a promotion to Toronto\u2019s top line midway through Tuesday\u2019s game in Montreal. He made a nice play to set up William Nylander<\/a> for the Leafs\u2019 only goal in a 3-1 loss to the Canadiens. Cowan will remain beside Matthews and Nylander to start Thursday\u2019s game against the Anaheim Ducks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cowan and Matthews also got a look together early in the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve had some good stretches at times,\u201d coach Craig Berube<\/a> said. \u201c[It\u2019s] a good opportunity for Cowan. I thought he did a good job in Montreal, and that\u2019s why I made that switch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthews has gone 12 straight NHL games without a goal. He hasn\u2019t gone this long between goals with the Leafs since a 13-game dry spell in his first season in 2016-17. Why is he struggling to score? <\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, that\u2019s a good question,\u201d Berube said. \u201cI don\u2019t really think I\u2019m going to get into all that right now. You know, I think he\u2019s had some tough luck, to be honest with you … It\u2019s not every night, but he gets a lot of opportunities and whether it\u2019s the post, the goalie makes a save, you know, there\u2019s all sorts of things that probably play into it. Hopefully he can break out of it tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthews did score in two of six games at the Milan Olympics where he helped the United States win the gold medal.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe feels it probably more than anyone as our captain, our leader and the type of player that he is,\u201d said centre John Tavares<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s been a lot of hockey, it\u2019s been a lot of emotions, a lot of things that he\u2019s been through, but he continues, I think, being extremely dialed in on his preparation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will Matthews ever return to being NHL’s best goal scorer? Auston Matthews has reached the 60-plus goal mark twice in his career, and has four other 40-plus goal seasons on his resume. However, with 26 this year, he’s trending towards his lowest goal output of his career. Will the Maple Leafs captain ever return to being the NHL’s best goal-scorer? TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button joins Domino’s That’s Hockey to give his thoughts. <\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

What is Cowan\u2019s mindset down the stretch? <\/p>\n

\u201cJust keep playing fast,\u201d he said. \u201cKeep making plays and keep playing [with] confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cowan has hit the scoresheet in three of the last four games. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t speak highly enough about his approach every day, how much he loves the game and how he\u2019s continuing to work on improving,\u201d said Tavares. \u201cThere\u2019s an extremely internal belief that he has and confidence that he has to him, not in an arrogant or cocky way, but just in wanting to prove that he belongs and the impact he can make.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cowan is learning with every game, but some of the lessons are harder than others. Brendan Gallagher<\/a> hammered him with a big hit late in the first period on Tuesday, which led defenceman Jake McCabe<\/a> to jump in and drop the gloves. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just got to be ready for the hit, honestly,\u201d Cowan admitted. \u201cI\u2019m standing up too tall and just got to be ready for it. But, obviously, I said, \u2018Thanks\u2019 to Caber a lot there. That means a lot and shows the support we have.\u201d<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

If a similar situation arises on Thursday, Michael Pezzetta<\/a> will be ready to step in. The gritty winger was recalled from the AHL and will make his Leafs debut against the Ducks. <\/p>\n

\u201cSuper stoked,\u201d Pezzetta said of his first game. \u201cJust being from Toronto, growing up, like, wanting to put this jersey on for my whole life, still gotta pinch myself. I\u2019m super excited. I could barely sleep last night. Yeah, it\u2019s crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old grew up a Leafs fan with Mats Sundin<\/a> being his favourite player. <\/p>\n

\u201cCame down to a few games,\u201d Pezzetta said with a smile. \u201cUsually sitting a little higher than I\u2019ll be sitting tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pezzetta signed a two-year deal with the Leafs in the summer, but has spent the entire season with the Marlies until now. <\/p>\n

What does he plan to show on Thursday? <\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely a lot of energy, physicality, just life,\u201d Pezzetta said. \u201cThat\u2019s kind of been my role over the last four years when I was with Montreal. Just excited to do that and excited to prove to myself that I still belong here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pezzetta stoked to make Leafs debut: ‘I wanted to put this jersey on for my whole life’ The Maple Leafs recalled forward Michael Pezzetta from the AHL\u2019s Toronto Marlies on Thursday, and he is expected to make his debut with the Maple Leafs against the Anaheim Ducks. Pezzetta last appeared in the NHL during the 2024-25 campaign, playing in 25 games for the Montreal Canadiens. He shares what it means to be called up to the team having grown up in Toronto. <\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Ducks rookie Beckett Sennecke<\/a> expects to have up to 45 friends and family in the crowd on Thursday as he plays his first NHL game at Scotiabank Arena. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s awesome,\u201d the 20-year-old winger said. \u201cIt\u2019s something I\u2019ve been looking for all year. I\u2019m pretty excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

His parents are pumped, as well. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve been texting me about it for the last three, four months,\u201d Sennecke said with a grin. <\/p>\n

Sennecke estimates he attended between 100 to 150 games at Scotiabank Arena growing up. <\/p>\n

\u201cI came to a lot of Leafs games, especially in those playoff runs even the past couple years,\u201d he said. \u201cI loved the Leafs growing up. They were my go-to team and I looked up to a lot of the guys that I\u2019m going to play against tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

What will it be like to play Matthews? <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be pretty cool. He\u2019s definitely one of those guys I watched growing up and admired since I was pretty young.\u201d<\/p>\n

What did he learn from watching Matthews? <\/p>\n

\u201cHow to score, I guess. You take little things from him. He scores in so many different ways, so if you pick up little things from him, you\u2019re going to score more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sennecke is also eager to renew his rivalry with Cowan. Cowan\u2019s London Knights knocked out his Oshawa Generals in the OHL finals the past two years. Does he owe Cowan one? <\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I do,\u201d Sennecke said with a grin. \u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ducks’ Calder contender Sennecke pumped for first NHL game in Toronto Toronto, O.N. native Beckett Sennecke will be making his debut in Toronto Thursday night with the Anaheim Ducks in town. He talks about playing his first game in his hometown, and growing up a Leafs fan. <\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Quebec native Bo Groulx made his Leafs debut on Tuesday night. It was his first NHL game since April 12, 2024. <\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the national anthem I was looking at the crowd and I was like, \u2018Alright, we\u2019re back. We\u2019re back. Let\u2019s go!\u2019\u201d the 26-year-old said. \u201cIt was really fun seeing the crowd out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Groulx made a nice play around Canadiens defenceman Noah Dobson<\/a> to create a scoring chance in the third period. <\/p>\n

\u201cI had a pass from Caber there in the neutral zone,\u201d he recalled. \u201cI had a lot of speed and I know when I have a lot of speed like that in the neutral zone I can create some plays early at the blue line. I saw Dobson was flat-footed a little bit, so I tried to make a move and I was glad it worked out. Dobes make a good save. I\u2019m happy I made that move.\u201d<\/p>\n

Groulx has earned another game on Thursday night and it will be another special one as he faces his former team. The Ducks drafted Groulx in the second round in 2018. He played 65 games for the Ducks. <\/p>\n

\u201cReally good memories,\u201d he said of his time with the team. \u201cI was there for four years. I grew up in that organization. Spent two years in San Diego (AHL), a year and a half with the Ducks and most of the guys are there right now. It\u2019s going to be fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Groulx remains very close with goalie Lukas Dostal<\/a> and centre Mason McTavish<\/a>. <\/p>\n

What will it be like to go up against McTavish? <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a really strong guy, really smart player,\u201d Groulx said. \u201cI think I know a little bit of his moves, so I\u2019ll try and get in his head a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

McTavish lights up when asked about Groulx. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s playing tonight? Oh man, that\u2019s unreal,\u201d McTavish said. \u201cI\u2019m happy for him. He\u2019s a great guy. I loved him. Loved him as a teammate. I\u2019m happy he\u2019s getting a chance here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why did they hit it off? <\/p>\n

\u201cWe were roommates my first year,\u201d McTavish recalled. \u201cWe both made the team as younger guys and we kind of bonded over that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dostal will get the start for the Ducks.<\/p>\n

New Leaf Groulx looks to build momentum against former team Benoit-Olivier Groulx shares what he will remember about his first game with the Maple Leafs and building momentum against his former team. <\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson<\/a> is replacing Morgan Rielly<\/a> as the quarterback on the top power-play unit for Thursday\u2019s game. <\/p>\n

\u201cJust last game, I didn\u2019t like how it was going,\u201d Berube said of the change. \u201cI\u2019ve done it a few times this year, right? Sometimes, you know, a little switch like that will spark it again and get it going in the right direction. Right now, it\u2019s a little dry for us, so that\u2019s why I made the switch.\u201d<\/p>\n

During power-play reps on Thursday morning a shot by Matthews deflected off the pad of Joseph Woll<\/a> and into the face of Matthew Knies, who immediately left the ice.<\/p>\n

Berube said Knies will be ready to play on Thursday night. <\/p>\n

The Leafs are 0\/6 on the power play in the last three games. <\/p>\n

—-<\/p>\n

Lines at Leafs skate: <\/p>\n

Cowan – Matthews – Nylander<\/p>\n

Knies – Tavares – Domi<\/p>\n

Maccelli – Groulx – Robertson<\/p>\n

Pezzetta – Quillan – Jarnkrok<\/p>\n

Joshua, Lorentz<\/p>\n

Rielly – Carlo<\/p>\n

McCabe – Ekman-Larsson<\/p>\n

Benoit – Myers<\/p>\n

Stecher<\/p>\n

Woll starts<\/p>\n

Stolarz <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Auston Matthews is mired in his longest goal drought since his rookie season. Perhaps a current Leafs rookie…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":500236,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5106],"tags":[33381,4759,33999,58994,58995,36871,5,20,5172,58993,4,66,31,32467,5171],"class_list":{"0":"post-500235","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto-maple-leafs","8":"tag-anaheim-ducks-sports-hockey-team-team-nhl-api-24","9":"tag-apple-news","10":"tag-auston-matthews-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8479318","11":"tag-beckett-sennecke-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8484762","12":"tag-bo-groulx-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8480870","13":"tag-easton-cowan-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8484158","14":"tag-hockey","15":"tag-maple-leafs","16":"tag-mapleleafs","17":"tag-michael-pezzetta-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8479543","18":"tag-nhl","19":"tag-toronto","20":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs","21":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs-sports-hockey-team-team-nhl-api-10","22":"tag-torontomapleleafs"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=500235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/500236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=500235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=500235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}