Auston Matthews assesses Game 5 blowout: ‘Everybody’s got to look in the mirror, myself included’

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews was frank in his analysis of his team’s performance in Game 5 against the Florida Panthers.

With a chance to regain the series lead going back to Sunrise, the Leafs were listless at the worst possible time, allowing six goals unanswered and resorting to a goalie change. Nick Robertson scored late in the third period, to help the Leafs avoid getting shutout in consecutive games.

Matthews felt that he and his teammates made it too easy for the Panthers to execute their game plan, after the 6-1 loss.

“Obviously the start wasn’t great.  The way that they play, I think we just fed into what makes them successful,” Matthews said post-game. “Thought they won the net fronts tonight. I thought they competed harder, won more puck battles. That’s the game. It’s really as simple as that. Just the little details. I don’t think we’re very sharp tonight in executing.”

With so much on the line going into this game, the Leafs fail to rise to the occasion and allow their opponent to dictate the pace of play. The lineup adjustments failed to muster up much momentum, the power-play went cold, and Joseph Woll had a night to forget.

As a result, fans inside Scotiabank Arena grew restless by raining down boos and even throwing some jerseys on the ice before making an early exit.

“I mean, I don’t think we gave them much reason to stick around,” Matthews said. “I think everybody’s gotta look in the mirror, myself included. Everybody wants to be better. Everybody wants to obviously win.”

What added to the frustration from the fanbase on Wednesday night was that the captain once again failed to score. Matthews is now up to 10 consecutive second-round games where he couldn’t find the back of the net. Matthews has also only mustered up two goals throughout the playoffs so far, which is far below the standards of a player a year removed from a 69-goal campaign.

“ I don’t look at myself as a one-dimensional player if I’m not scoring,” Matthews said. “ I’m trying to do all the other little things that make the team successful, that make myself successful, and just try to be an all-around complete player.  So I’m gonna continue to push and try to score obviously, and keep shooting.  But all the other little details of my game, I want to do it at a high level as well.”

Wednesday’s crushing defeat at the hands of the reigning Stanley Cup champions was undoubtedly deflating, which now puts the pressure back on the Leafs going into Game 6. But the series is far from over as they will get a chance to keep their season alive and force a Game 7 on Sunday.

Matthews knows there is nothing that can be done about Game 5, and all they can do now is regroup and focus on putting together a better effort on Friday.

“ We’ve been a great team all season long,” Matthews said about preparing for Game 6. “ There’s always gonna be belief in this group and the confidence in this group from what we built out throughout the year. So we gotta go into this game with confidence and it’s gotta be our best game of the year.”