Auston Matthews thrown under the bus in Leafs' loss
The superstar himself isn’t happy with his sluggish start.
Tonight didn't go as planned for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the San Jose Sharks at Scotiabank Arena.
A sluggish opening frame for both teams soon was broken by the Sharks powering through with three tallies in the second period, along with another two in the 3rd en route to a 5-3 triumph. Two goals from captain Logan Couture led the way for the visiting Sharks, who also got goals from Erik Karlsson, Timo Meier and Jonathan Dahlen.
Meanwhile, the red light was lit for the home squad by veteran Jason Spezza, captain John Tavares and newcomer Ondrej Kase.
However, absent from the scoresheet was superstar forward Auston Matthews, who has yet to register a point through his first two contests of the 2021-22 season after returning from offseason wrist surgery.
And needless to say, head coach Sheldon Keefe noticed.
"That line wasn't going today," Keefe said of his top line. "You should be asking as many questions about Matthews / Marner today as you should be Ritchie."
"I can just tell by the line of questioning I have been getting over the last number of days that we want to pile on Nick Ritchie here, but let's not narrow the focus too much," Keefe continued.
However, don't expect the line to be broken up - at least not yet.
"I think so," Keefe answered when asked if he'd keep the line intact for tomorrow's game. "Today, we are trying to get things moving around. I have already watched back parts of video of that line and some of the different shifts."
For the reigning Rocket Richard Trophy winner as the NHL's top goal scorer last season, he knows that it's only a small sample size, but that he absolutely must be better.
"We haven't done a good enough job to generate a good chance," Matthews said. "It wasn't my best performance tonight. I'm trying to get back into the beat."
"Timing, rhythm - it's still a work in progress."
Thanks to his historic campaign, Matthews became the first Leafs player in 75 years as well as the first United States-born player in 24 years to lead the NHL in goal scoring last season.
Matthews and the Maple Leafs will look to rebound when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins tomorrow night; goaltender Jack Campbell will be between the pipes.
