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Toronto Maple Leafs: Matthews’ Slumping at Worst Time

By James Tanner

Feb 21, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner (51) is congratulated by center Nazem Kadri (43) and center William Nylander (29) and center Auston Matthews (34) against the Winnipeg Jets at Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Jets 5-4 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 21, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner (51) is congratulated by center Nazem Kadri (43) and center William Nylander (29) and center Auston Matthews (34) against the Winnipeg Jets at Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Jets 5-4 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Auston Matthews is the best player the Toronto Maple Leafs have.  By the time he’s done, he’s likely to be the best player they ever had.

But right now, Auston Matthews is in a slump.  He scored four goals in his first game, and waited until March to have his first slump – I think he’ll be OK.  It’s just not the greatest time.

Saturday against Carolina marked the fifth straight game  Matthews failed to register a point. It was the second time this season that he has gone five games without a point.  The difference is that when he did it earlier in the season, he was playing so well that it couldn’t even be called a slump. He was possessing the puck and putting up shots at an elite level.  He isn’t doing that right now.

Overall, Auston Matthews has 55 points in 67 games and leads the NHL in 5v5 goals. He plays centre against the other team’s best line (at least in road games) and plays with two rookies, but is a positive possession player who is among the NHL’s best even-strength players.  So there is no reason to worry about him being in a slump, it just happens.

Auston Matthews’ Last Five Games

In the last five games:

LA     35% CF, 0 points, 2 shots

ANA 42%, 0 points, 1 shot

DET  46% 0 points, 1 shot

PHI   42% 0 points, four shots

CAR  42%  0 points, three shots

As you can see, those aren’t anything like the statistics we’ve come to expect from Matthews. At least the last two games had him back to putting up 3-4 shots per night, but it’s the possession numbers that are concerning.  Overall Matthews is a 51% player and goes up to 55% when paired with William Nylander.

While many would point to the length of the season, the trip home to the west coast, the grind of being a professional athlete, inexperience, or whatever, I prefer to just assume it’s part of the normal ebb and flow of the game – sometimes you’re good, sometimes you’re bad. I don’t think there always has to be a reason.

Plus, there are so many things we might not even know – lingering injury? – who knows?

Given the first 57 or so games of his career, there is no reason to be concerned about this recent slump. If the goals aren’t coming, it’d be nice if you could point to high shot-totals and a strong Corsi to say he’s just getting unlucky, but it isn’t the case right now.  Matthews just hasn’t played well for the last five games.

Still, as mentioned, he had a four goal game and hit 30 goals before he even had his first slump, so I don’t think that, other than the timing, it’s anything to be concerned about.

All Stats: hockey.stats.analysis.com +  corsica.hockey

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