Auston Matthews says Leafs are still chasing consistency after loss to Devils

The Toronto Maple Leafs suffered a tough blow Tuesday night, losing 5-2 at home to the surging New Jersey Devils.

Toronto now has four losses across its last six games. Aside from a convincing overtime win over the New York Rangers last Thursday, the Leafs failed to perform consistently through any of those games.

“It’s a little bit of the same over the last couple games,” Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews said post-game. “Sloppy at times, then just this roller coaster of inconsistency, I think that’s the biggest piece.”

John Tavares also called the Leafs’ play ‘sloppy’ in his media availability Tuesday night. Asked why Toronto’s failing to look sharp on the ice, Matthews offered his assessment.

“I think it’s a little bit of everything,” Matthews said. “It’s attitude and commitment from us to take care of the puck in certain situations, certain parts of the game. The second period’s been a bit of a struggle for us lately. I think a lot of it just comes down to execution: being mentally focused and executing out there. We’ve shown flashes of it, but it has to be throughout the whole 60 minutes.”

It’s frustrating to see those same mistakes continue to be made, but Matthews is confident they can put it together if they lean into what works.

“I think it’s just taking care of the puck, the turnovers,” Matthews said. “The simple plays are there. I think maybe we try to overextend or do too much at times, and that’s where we get ourselves in trouble. Like I said, we’ve shown flashes. I thought the last five, six minutes of the second period was really good.”

Matthews and the Maple Leafs will look to turn those flashes into full game performances, with a chance to get back in the win column Friday against the Buffalo Sabres, the first game of a back-to-back.