Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews has certainly been making the headlines in recent days. Whether it be capturing the NHL Three Stars of the Week honours, or smashing Maple Leafs records to become the all-time franchise leader in goals, Matthews has sure done it all for Toronto. In doing so, the Leafs have climbed right back up in the standings to be in the thick of the playoff race.
With that, it could only mean one thing, as Matthews and the Maple Leafs are officially back and are as scary as ever. No one would have likely envisioned this after the dreadful starts that they both had to begin the 2025-26 NHL season.
It sure took a while but Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs are officially back
But with the joys of the Christmas season rolling in towards the end of last month, Matthews has been a man on a mission ever since. Since the holiday break, the Leafs captain has recorded seven goals and four assists for 11 points in his last five games, which included his first hat trick in almost two years in a game against the Winnipeg Jets on New Years Day. More importantly, Matthews has been on a shooting binge once again, dishing out a whopping 29 shots on goal during that same five-game stretch. When the 28-year-old dynamo is back to shooting like that, it is when he is the most dangerous on a nightly basis.
At the same time, the Maple Leafs appeared to have resurrected their season in the past couple of weeks. Toronto has registered points in the NHL standings in seven consecutive games by posting a 5-0-2 record over that stretch, while outscoring the opposition 32-21 in the process. More significantly, they have added some life back in their power play while maintaining a top-notch penalty kill to make their special teams one of their strengths once again. As a result, the Maple Leafs currently hold a 20-15-7 record and 47 points to sit sixth in the Atlantic Division, but are only eight points behind the division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning with 55 points.
Having Matthews back at the top of his game is what is most important for the Leafs to have winning success going forward. After all, they can only go as far as he can take them. Nevertheless, the entire league should start to get worried as with Matthews in beast mode for the Maple Leafs, nothing may be able to stop them as a result.