Auston Matthews discusses need for discipline after Panthers even series in Game 4

And just like that, we’re all tied up once again, as the Florida Panthers took Game 4 Sunday night by a score of 2-0 to even the series at two apiece.

Shut out for the second time this postseason, it was clear to see that it was one of the worst, if not the worst, efforts the Toronto Maple Leafs have put out through these playoffs so far. Addressing the media after the Game 4 loss, Toronto captain Auston Matthews took accountability for his group’s mistakes in the game.

“Obviously they’re a team that puts a lot of pucks to the net,” Matthews said. “I thought we didn’t do a good enough job of helping our D and executing coming out of the zone, and they were able to kind of sustain pressure to our game. Thought there was times where we were better, but I think consistently over the 60 minutes they outworked us and outplayed us in that area.”

One clear takeaway from Game 4 is that the Leafs need to be more disciplined. Florida had four power plays in the first period, and while Toronto managed to kill the first three, the fourth provided the Panthers with the game-winning goal. Finishing the night 5-for-6 on the penalty kill, Matthews said he thought their shorthanded unit was “pretty good,” but that they need to find their discipline again.

“You spend half the game in the box and it’s hard to generate momentum,” Matthews said. “So that’s on us to be more disciplined in all those areas, because they’re a good team on special teams. Special teams is such a big part of the game, especially in the postseason. It’s hard when you’re killing a lot.”

Faced with another blank in the playoffs, Game 4 was a painful reminder of what happens when Toronto’s scoring dries up. And while numerous core and depth pieces have stepped up throughout the postseason so far, pressure continues to mount on Matthews, who only has two goals through ten games. Asked if he was feeling snakebitten after another night held off the scoresheet, the centre answered in his typically even-keeled manner.

“A little bit,” Matthews said. “The chances have been there, I think I just gotta do a better job of bearing down on some of them. For the most part throughout the four games, we’ve been winning shifts, generating chances against tough matchups. Obviously, you wanna score, I wanna score, but we’ll continue to get those opportunities and capitalize and go from there.”

Now the series turns back to Toronto, where the Maple Leafs will look to use home ice advantage to regain the lead after failing to steal one on the road.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, we’re playing the defending Cup champs,” Matthews said. “Both teams took care of home ice, so here we are. We just gotta continue to push, clean up some things, get better in different areas, go back on home ice and be excited about that.”

Both teams will get an extra day of rest before Game 5, scheduled for Wednesday at 7 pm.

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