Auston Matthews Under Fire for Recent Play After Back-to-Back Losses
Auston Matthews' return was supposed to help elevate the Toronto Maple Leafs however they have gone 2-2 since, and the captain is getting some flak for his play.
When Auston Matthews was injured, among the many Maple Leafs who found themselves on the injured reserve, the team never faltered and went a staggering 7-2-0 without their captain thanks to the heroics of Mitch Marner and company.
But since coming back, Toronto has looked a bit lost with Matthews back in the fold, and back-to-back losses to Washington and the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins did nothing but raise concerns about what what Matthews' return means for the Leafs.
Is Auston Matthews Making The Maple Leafs Worse?
While some would argue that question teeters on the brink of insanity, there is some evidence to back it up. Beyond the two game slide with Matthews and Marner together, Toronto has statistically been way worse off with Marner injured than Matthews.
The difference has been considerably noticeable since the return of Matthews, and analysts and pundits have begun trying to figure how what Toronto should do with the duo.
Rob and Ryan Furnish of the "Talkin' Buds" podcast went into a critique of how Matthews and Marner have played since the return and laid it out plainly:
The brothers then continued to talk about how the team isn't the same with Matthews, and that he looks a step or two behind everyone else and it's hindering the team:
"Even though they've contributed offensively, the fact is they're 0-2 on the same line. Auston Matthews coming back, all of a sudden the way they were playing when they won 9 of 10, isn't how they're looking now.
At the end of the day I know he was hurt, but even before then he wasn't playing well. If you're going to make the money, you can't be mid...Connor McDavid was out with an injury, comes right back and dominates."
It's a bold statement for sure but not completely unfounded.
The team has struggled to act cohesively like they did without their captain and the overreliance on their premier goal-scorer has led to missed chances and bad losses.
Even though Marner and Matthews have been able to create some fantastic chemistry, it might be time to keep that pairing to a minimum.
Marner has been lights out this season with 36 points and proving he is going to be worth every penny whenever he signs his next contract either in Toronto, or somewhere else.
He's also proved he's worth more than the internal cap the Leafs have seemingly set for Matthews, so it's a question of does Toronto bite.
Matthews on the other hand has 18 points in 18 games and while he was out injured, it's a lack of production from your superstar captain.
Toronto needs more out of Matthews and be the dominating force he can be. If he doesn't pick it up, and the team goes through him for scoring; that's a bad combination.
All in all, does Auston Matthews make the Maple Leafs worse? Probably not in the grand scheme of things, as he is one of the best in the league undoubtedly.
Though his play as of late has many questioning if the Leafs need to make a lineup change again.
| POLL | ||
Is Auston Matthews holding the Toronto Maple Leafs back? | ||
| Yes | 405 | 40.9 % |
| No | 586 | 59.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
