After taking a 2-0 series lead in the Battle of the Atlantic, the Toronto Maple Leafs were headed to Sunrise, Florida, with momentum to hopefully push the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers to a must-win Game 4, but that didn't happen.
The Leafs did bring their 2-0 series lead momentum into this game with Matthew Knies’s goal just 23 seconds into the game, which was the fastest goal scored in a playoff game in the last 62 years.
Death, taxes, and Matthew Knies scoring goals in the state of Florida pic.twitter.com/MEeVuhzqNT
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 9, 2025
Just before the 16-minute mark of the second period, the Leafs had a 3-1 lead thanks to two goals from forward John Tavares, who had been pointless in his last four games.
Toronto would give up three straight goals from the Panthers, who would eventually take Game 3 thanks to Brad Marchand’s overtime winner, marking his 33rd playoff point against the Leafs, which is third all-time, tied with Montreal Canadiens legend Henri Richard.
Although the Leafs dropped Game 3, seeing a core four player other than William Nylander put the team on his back in Tavares was an encouraging sign.
John Tavares collects his 4th career multi-goal playoff game, 3rd with the #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/Ng9VGCaNLv
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) May 10, 2025
Getting his Chances
Throughout the second round of the playoffs, each player from the core four has played some significant role in at least one of the Leafs’ first three games, except Auston Matthews. His 10 points this playoffs suggest that he’s been around the play enough to put the puck in the back of the net more than two times, but he’s simply just had a hard time finishing, quite literally. His 20 missed shots lead all players this post-season, per MoneyPuck.com.
It’s not like Matthews isn’t getting to his spots either. His 5.2 expected goals across any circumstance ranks second this playoffs only behind Carolina Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov. Look closer, and you’ll find that no other player in this post-season has generated as many high-danger shot attempts across all situations as Dallas Stars Forward Jamie Benn and Matthews.
Say what you want about Matthews having to deal with two-time Selke winner Aleksander Barkov following him around every shift, who limited Tampa Bay Lightning top-line centerman Brayden Point in round one to two points in five games while also leaving Lightning star forward Nikita Kucherov goalless, but It’s not like Barkov has been defensively dominating this playoffs, he owns the 129th-best on-ice expected goals against per 60 minutes.
Barkov and Matthews have so far canceled each other’s offensive production out, as Matthews has limited Barkov to two points (both goals) while Barkov has capped Matthews to just three points (all assists).
Both centers have done a good job shutting down the opposing team’s best centerman, and their teams pay them more than any other player on their squad. The only difference is one team rewards their player for doing so, and the other doesn’t.
It was last summer that Leafs general manager Brad Treliving and the Leafs made Matthews the highest-paid player in the NHL with his 53 million-dollar contract, and you can bet they didn’t envision him having the same amount of goals these playoffs as 36-year-old Max Pacioretty.