Matthews finally delivers, providing major boost for Maple Leafs
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Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews finally delivered to help keep Toronto's season alive in a 2-0 win over the Florida Panthers to force a Game 7 in their series.
The dangerous forward, who had been held without a goal in 10 career playoff games against the Panthers, skated to the top of the left face-off circle and fired a shot at an unscreened Sergei Bobrovsky.
The puck bounced through the legs of the veteran netminder, and gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead in a win-or-go-home Game 6.
Max Pacioretty added an insurance goal late in the frame, and the Maple Leafs won for a chance to advance on home ice in the deciding Game 7 on Sunday.
But all eyes were on Matthews for breaking through.
“I mean, it’s such a huge, huge goal,” Pacioretty said of Matthews' tally. “You know, that’s a situation where no one wants to make a mistake. You could feel the tension on both sides there at that point in the game. And then just an unbelievable shot from an unbelievable player.
“That’s why he’s our captain.”
The veteran of nine seasons scored only his third goal of this playoffs and the first second-round goal in the playoffs of his NHL career.
“It felt great,” Matthews said. “I’ve had some good opportunities all series, and so I’m going to keep shooting and keep believing that the next one’s going in.
“So, that one felt great.”
His struggles drew the ire of fans in Game 5, when the Maple Leafs were run off the ice in embarrassing fashion in a 6-1 loss. Matthews was particularly targeted with boos by the home crowd, and at least one fan threw a Matthews jersey onto the ice during the game before heading for the exit.
The goal was perhaps even surprising for Matthews, given how the outlook of his game shifted in the second period after catching a stick in the eye from Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov.
Matthews took a quick trip to the locker room to have the eye examined after he experienced blurry vision for a few minutes.
“I just caught it in the eye,” the Maple Leafs captain said. “So, it was a little scary there. I had trouble seeing, so they wanted to check it out in the room and let it calm down.”
“I was kind of able to get whatever kind of decent vision back and finally go out there,” Matthews said after the game - he returned late in the second period. “But they definitely wanted to make sure it was checked out and make sure it was all good.”
Now the team is staring down a Game 7 - a spot that hasn't been kind to the Maple Leafs in recent history. Dating back to 2013, the Maple Leafs have lost six consecutive Game 7s - five of which have come in the last eight seasons.
But the one difference for the Maple Leafs this time around is the voice behind the bench. Head coach Craig Berube has had a lot of success in this situation in his coaching career - including Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, in which his St. Louis Blues defeated the Boston Bruins 4-1 - and is excited for the opportunity facing the team.
“We’ve got to come out in Game 7 and do the same things we did tonight,” Berube said after Friday's win. “It’s not fancy. It’s just competing. It’s being direct. It’s simple hockey.”
“A lot on the line,” he added. “Everything’s on the line.”