Auston Matthews steps on the accelerator as the team’s “driver”
When Sheldon Keefe saw the zeroes next to Auston Matthews’ goal total almost two weeks ago, he said that his best and highest-paid player, “the driver” of the Maple Leafs, “has to do better” in his all-around game.
a rare public rebuke from the coach, which coincided with criticism that the team’s stars were receiving soft touch treatment rather than tough love.
On the evening that Keefe put him to the test, Matthews scored two goals against Boston. On Tuesday, he finished a productive five-game run with a season-high four points against the Rangers, who lead the Metro Division. He then added three more goals to tie Brock Boeser of Vancouver for the NHL lead at 21.
Matthews became the first Leaf to score 20 goals in 26 games or less since Wendel Clark 30 years ago after he scored 20 goals in each of his first eight seasons in Toronto.
Matthews told reporters in New York that his current run of play mirrored his October burst out of the gate with back-to-back hat tricks. “Maybe you just feel like you’re in a rhythm, in a flow out there,” Matthews said. We’ve done a fantastic job of merely competing and regaining pucks. It’s not always about the flashy plays; sometimes it’s about one-on-ones and teammates helping each other out all over the rink.
However, he has recently written some stunning works.
Keefe set up Matthews with the team’s current points leader, William Nylander, on his right side as a result of his split from Mitch Marner, which helped the winger’s 5-on-5 slump.
Regarding Matthews’ eighteen shots in the last three games, Nylander remarked, “He’s ripping the puck, hitting posts, and playing really great.”
Additionally, on Tuesday, Matthews and Marner scored in the same game for the 69th time; in these matches, Toronto has a 60-4-5 record.
Car No. 34 is obviously having fun back in the fast lane.
