NHL analyst drops no-holds-barred take on Leafs captain Auston Matthews over scoring slump

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews is getting attention for his scoring slump in the playoffs. Matthews has only scored two goals in nine playoff games this season. On Saturday, NHL analyst Steven Ellis spoke about it on the Leafs Morning Take podcast.

Ellis pointed out that Matthews has the most missed shots of any player in the playoffs.

"Like, this is a guy who's got the most missed shots of any player in the playoffs right now," Ellis said. "He's also, I think, second shots in the second round. So he's had these opportunities. He's had a lot of missed opportunities, but high volume shooters will shoot a lot."

Ellis said that while Matthews has helped defensively, that's not the main reason the team pays him a top salary. He's expected to score goals.

He added:

"You expect that he's playing injured, because he's not ripping those shots that we're used to. He's not getting in those scoring lanes, and when he's shooting, he looks a bit more like a Beer League player at times."

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Matthews was going through a difficult phase in the first half of this season. He suffered a serious injury and missed 15 games on two separate occasions.

Steven Ellis pointed out that Auston Matthews' return to form will boost the team

Even though Auston Matthews hasn’t scored much, he’s been helping his teammates. He got two assists in Friday’s Game 3 overtime loss against the Florida Panthers. He now has eight assists in nine games. That shows he’s still making plays, even without scoring goals.

Other players on the team have stepped up. John Tavares scored two goals in Game 3, and Matthew Knies remains a scoring threat. Steven Ellis said that if Matthews starts scoring again, it could give the team a big boost.

"So you know that he's got that skill," Ellis said. "He can take over a game and put the pucks in the net better than almost anybody. We haven't seen that yet. ... But once you get those goals from Auston Matthews, that unlocks a whole other level for this game."

For now, the Maple Leafs are still creating chances, but Matthews' return to form would help even more.

About the author

Ankit is an NHL journalist at Sportskeeda with over 3 years of experience in the writing industry. He has expertise in sports, product, and travel content writing. His interest in ice hockey was piqued after watching Sidney Crosby play and he has been passionately following the game since then. Ankit admires Crosby’s personality and hockey IQ, and when he crossed the 1,500 points tally, Ankit was among the biggest fans to celebrate the occasion.

An Edmonton Oilers fan because of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, Ankit also admires the Pittsburgh Penguins due to Crosby and the Colorado Avalanche for Nathan MacKinnon. He is also a fan of Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr.

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Edited by Ribin Peter

NHL analyst drops no-holds-barred take on Leafs captain Auston Matthews over scoring slump - "Got the most missed shots"

Steven Ellis pointed out that Auston Matthews' return to form will boost the team