2024-25 Playoff Focus: Auston Matthews (GM1 vs. OTT)
Understated two-way excellence
When Auston Matthews dives into the thick of the action, the Leafs look like a different beast. An actual contender. Toronto’s captain delivered on that front in Game 1 vs. Ottawa, engaging in every puck battle he could find in order to set the tone for the Battle of Ontario.
Watch how he nearly converts a Senators retrieval into a scoring chance by his lonesome in the opening frame (TOR 34):
Shoulder-check to determine where his F2 and F3 are. Mitch Marner (TOR 16) reaching the right wall first means Matthews should skew left.
He plots his route accordingly, deters Jake Sanderson (OTT 85) from reversing the puck and drives through the defenseman’s body for good measure.
The puck hops on Sanderson, which puts Matthews in range to challenge a second defender. He performs a one-handed stick lift on Tim Stützle (OTT 18), recovers possession and attempts a spinning backhand pass to his F3 (Matthew Knies, TOR 23).
Throughout his career, such close-quarters urgency has been a telltale sign that Matthews is raring to make an impact. His wall play—this time in the DZ—would generate a goal less than six minutes later:
The worst version of Matthews’ defense relies exclusively on thievery, going so far as to trade the inside lane for an aggressive angle on the puck. No shortcuts in the clip above. He stick-taps Stützle to force a pass, finishes his check to out-leverage the German, grabs Nick Jensen’s (OTT 3) rim and catches the Sens sleeping on the counterattack.
Breakaway pass to Marner —> 1-0 Leafs.
Craig Berube was already hiding a smile at this point. What will have pleased the old-school bench boss even more? His leader’s drive spilled over to home plate too. That was the hallmark of Berube’s Stanley Cup-winning Blues squad, and Matthews flexing his muscle (let’s not forget he’s a 6’3”, 217-pounder) around the crease will prove vital to his team’s postseason chances:
This was perhaps most evident—and promising—on the PP. In the past, Matthews was often stranded on an island. If he wasn’t fed a seam pass to blast on goal, he’d do…very little.
He embraced a more active role in Game 1, zipping to the back door on Toronto’s bumper action so he could bang away at a rebound before Adam Gaudette (OTT 81) re-establishes position. That doesn’t dissuade Matthews, who keeps digging, wrenches the puck free and eventually draws a cross-checking penalty.
William Nylander would score on the ensuing two-man advantage.
A similar race to the back post creates Knies’ 6-2 marker in the third period:
Following a faceoff win, Marner steps off the wall and flicks a wrister into traffic. Matthews gets on his horse, beats Matthew Highmore (OTT 15) to the loose change and Knies cleans it up.
Look at where Matthews (top of the circle) and Highmore (inside hashes) start this sequence. The former has no business winning this goalmouth duel, but he manages to extend the play and effectively bury the Sens in the process.
With Ottawa pushing to cut its deficit in the back half of the contest, Matthews’ attention would turn to the DZ slot:
On the strength of his timing, quick stick and length, he spent much of the second and third periods defusing the Senators’ attack. They carried the balance of play and would flirt with opportunities only for Matthews to step in and squash their designs at the rim.
Despite his reputation, the 27-year-old superstar has shown flashes of superb postseason hockey. Passivity, injury or both kept him from stringing them together in previous years. So yeah, it’s a little premature to claim he finally “gets it.” At the same time, this is what you want to see out of your big dog. Heft. Hunger. The ability to provide style and substance.
Instead of gliding around in search of a Marner gift, he rolled up his sleeves and seized command of the game himself.
On the night, Matthews posted 2 primary assists and the Leafs outscored the Sens 1-0 during his 5-on-5 shifts.
Here are the full highlights: