The Toronto Maple Leafs fought hard in Game 6 and managed to stave off elimination. Left winger Max Pacioretty scored the second goal of the game at 14:17 in the third period, bringing the game to a score of 2-0 Leafs. But the really interesting part is who scored the first goal to put the Leafs ahead.
Auston Matthews finally showed up in Game 6 against Florida and scored his first goal of the series, I think I can speak for a lot of Leafs fans when I say: It's about time! Now, in Matthew's defence, there is some evidence that Matthews may be hurt, and that could be the reason for his less-than-stellar performance in the series, but the NHL provides so little detail regarding player injuries, it is hard to tell exactly what may be wrong with Matthews. And, those upper-body injuries may be resolved as they were reported more than five months ago.
Now, in regards to Matthews scoring his lone goal this series, we could have possibly predicted this if we take a look at his regular season stats. He scored just 33 goals in the 2024-25 season, which is the fewest of his NHL career.
Again, this could be attributed to him being injured in that season and being forced to sit out 15 games, and being able to only play in 67 games. But it is important to remember that back in the 2020-21 season, he played in 52 games but scored 41 goals. So whether we are seeing a declining Auston Matthews or just a bad season due to injuries is up in the air.
This is going to sound harsh, but it's the truth. Injury or not, Matthews needs to step up his game. He is the team captain and star of the Leafs, and him not scoring a single goal until Game 6 is simply unacceptable. The Leafs can't depend on luck to win Game 7, as just like Game 6, this is either win or be eliminated. If there is any time for Matthews to play his A game, that time is now, and if the Leafs can get past Florida, he will need to keep the momentum going against Carolina.
We need to see Matthews play like he did in the 2023-24 season, where he scored nearly a goal per game. That is the Matthews we need. What we don't need is the Matthews we have right now. His goal last night was a good start, but the Leafs simply need more.