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Auston Matthews Sends Clear Message to Maple Leafs Before Playoffs

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated Mar 24, 2025 8:00 AM ET

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews echoed former Leafs leader John Tavares and didn’t mince words after his team suffered another costly collapse.

After taking an early 2–0 lead, the Leafs found a way to blow that two-goal advantage and ultimately finished Saturday's game losing 5–2 to the Nashville Predators.

The defeat extended a pattern of inconsistency that has defined the Leafs' month of March, where the team has now lost six of its last 10 games, prompting Matthews to issue a team-wide warning ahead of the playoffs.

“The inconsistency is obviously not ideal, especially this time of year,” Matthews said. “We have a bad outing, and we string together a couple good games and kind of another letdown like this.

"That’s on us to make sure that we’re consistent every night, no matter what the situation, no matter what the game presents.”

️ Auston Matthews:

“The inconsistencies aren’t ideal, especially at this time of year. When we have a bad outing, string together a couple of good games, and then have another letdown like this, it’s on us to make sure we’re consistent no matter the situation.”

— @MapleLeafs…
— Leafslatest (@Leafslatest) March 23, 2025

Toronto entered Saturday's game boasting a three-game winning streak and with a chance to take sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division.

Both Florida and Tampa Bay lost earlier in the day, but the Leafs couldn’t capitalize. After dominating the first period and taking a 2–0 lead, they were outscored 5–0 the rest of the way.

“We definitely let up a bit,” Matthews said. “Didn’t seem like we had that physicality or urgency like we had in the first period.”

Leafs head coach Craig Berube echoed the frustration, calling out the mental side of the team’s breakdown.

“I haven’t seen mental mistakes like we made tonight in a while,” Berube said. “It was a total flip they did. What we did to them in the first, they did to us in the second.”

The Leafs return home to face the Flyers on Tuesday before beginning a road trip through California. Toronto sits second in the Atlantic Division with a 42-25-3 record and 87 points through 70 games to the Panthers' 89 points in 71 matches.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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