Leafs' Auston Matthews gets bluntly honest about $80,000,000 Panthers superstar ahead of Round 2 battle

Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs are preparing for another second-round matchup with the Florida Panthers.

Toronto's reward for winning the Battle of Ontario and eliminating the Ottawa Senators is an opportunity to knock off the defending Stanley Cup champions.

The two teams met in Round 2 of the 2023 playoffs in a series that Florida won rather handily, in five games. A lot has changed since that last matchup, and Toronto feels much better about its chances at exacting revenge this time around.

However, Auston Matthews knows it won't be easy, especially having to go head-to-head against superstar center Aleksander Barkov every night.

The Maple Leafs captain was asked about the Panthers captain during his media availability on Sunday. TSN reporter Mark Masters shared his comments on X (formerly Twitter).

"He’s big. He’s strong. He’s good in the faceoff circle. He’s probably the best two-way player, two-way centre in the league, in my opinion … You gotta fight for every inch," Matthews said.

Aleksander Barkov was recently nominated for the Frank J. Selke Trophy as one of the best defensive forwards in the league, an award he's already won twice in his career (2020-21, 2023-24).

The 29-year-old is in the third season of the eight-year, $80,000,000 contract extension he signed with the Panthers in 2021.

Auston Matthews came through with a clutch Game 6 performance

As panic started to ring out amongst the fanbase at the potential of another blown first-round series, Auston Matthews stepped up and took charge when the Maple Leafs needed it most.

The 27-year-old opened the scoring in Game 6 on the power play. He put forth a great all-around performance, finishing with one point (one goal), three shots, three hits, and one blocked shot in 18:29 of ice time. He was also dominant in the faceoff circle, winning 72.7% of his draws.

Faceoffs will be a huge factor in their matchup against Florida, with Aleksander Barkov and others among the best in the league in the dot. It's an area where Auston Matthews will once again be heavily relied upon to have success.

Matthews and the Maple Leafs kick off their second-round series with the Florida Panthers at home for Game 1 on Monday night. The puck drops at 8 p.m. EST at Scotiabank Arena.