Auston Matthews Speaks Out Following Triumph Over the Lightning

PUBLICATION

Aaron Itovitch
April 30, 2023 (8:25)

SHARE THIS STORY

Auston Matthews has been a Toronto Maple Leaf for nearly seven years, and has finally made it into the second round. He's not done yet.

Matthews Speaks Out

In the post-game on ice interviews, after the handshake line the Leafs have been waiting for for nearly 20 years, Matthews shared these comments:

"It's a great feeling... but this is step one of three,"

"It's a bit of a monkey off our back and we've still got a lot of work to do, but obviously this feels great."

It's great to see he's staying humble, as there is a long trek ahead for the Leafs in their pursuit of a cup, but he's definitely earned a bask in celebration.

"There's so many ups and downs and it's just a rollercoaster, so you just gotta try stay even keeled and just enjoy the moment,"

"Stay present, and I'm just so proud of every guy in this locker room."

While it may be OT Hero Tavares' room, Matthews is absolutely a leader for the team.

"It's a small step in where we are trying to go, but obviously this is a big one for us,"
"Obviously we have the belief in our room but we're still a long way from where we wanna go. We just gotta stay in the moment here and get ready for this next round."

A lot of teams have won rounds in the past 19 years, but this Leafs team just went against a team that went to three straight cup finals. It's hard to say this isn't monumental.

It's a pretty great time to be a Leafs fan.

As Read on HockeyFeed - First comments from Matthews after advancing past the Lightning.