Toronto Maple Leafs: Auston Matthews Goalscoring Heating Up

Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews took a bit of time to get going this season, but now he seems to be really heating up.

Matthews was robbed of reaching the coveted 50-goal mark for the Toronto Maple Leafs last year due to the Coronavirus pandemic cutting the regular season short, and it was hoped that the American center would continue his scoring efforts from the get-go.

With a long offseason and a very short training camp, Matthews began the unique 56-game 2021 season with just one goal in his first four games, though he played excellent, put up solid on-ice stats, and was the victim of a low shooting percentage.

Another goal came in his fifth game, a 3-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers that led to the 23-year-old needing to miss the next game with a minor injury.

Getting Back To His Best

Since returning, however, Matthews has scored in each of his three games and looks to be hitting the kind of form witnessed last season – placing him joint-second in the league in total goals scored, tied with teammate Mitch Marner.

After scoring just once in his first four games, to score four goals in his next four shows that Matthews is finally settling in – something that will have pleased the Toronto Maple Leafs greatly and should worry opposing teams in the North Division.

Matthews is a legitimate elite player in the NHL, arguably one of the very best thanks to his consistent goal scoring prowess as well as his all-round game, and having him come into form against some tough teams is a welcome bonus for the Leafs.

Despite the recent hot-streak, Matthews still has just two 5v5 on goals this season, one of which went off his skate.  He is shooting under 10% 5v5, which is about one-third of his career mark. (All stats via Hockey Reference).

While Matthews’ first four games were slower by his standard, he was by no means a backseat player and contributed four total points (three assists) in that time.

This season has also seen Matthews take on an even larger role within the Toronto Maple Leafs offensive system, averaging a career-high 22:12 while out on the ice, showing that the team truly is built around their top offensive talents.

It is, however, Matthews goal scoring that makes him a truly amazing player and now that he has scored in four consecutive games, it seems that the best is truly to come from Matthews and that can only mean good things as the 7-2-0 Toronto Maple Leafs look to make their mark on the all-Canadian division and seek to overcome last season’s post-season disappointment.