Auston Matthews comments on his late season offensive explosion and his health heading into the playoffs
After missing 3 weeks in February due to a knee injury, Auston Matthews found another gear to his game. Over his last 21 games, Matthews has caught fire putting up 12 goals and 26 points while being more physical and more focused on his defensive play.
Thanks to his late-season scoring surge, Matthews hit 40 goals for the fifth time in his career, setting a new Leaf record and while his 85 points may look like a down season by his standard, it is still a pretty damn good season. Following practice on Sunday, Matthews was asked about his production increasing and how he is feeling after dealing with a handful of injuries this season.
"I feel good. The last month or so was definitely the best I felt & played all year so I want to continue that momentum," Matthews told the media. Sheldon Keefe echoed his thoughts saying, "Auston found another gear down the stretch. I think he's really excited about an opportunity to start a new season (the playoffs)".
With Matthews finally being healthy and having found his scoring touch, and the Leafs having the option to run Ryan O'Reilly as a third center on the road, which would free Matthews from matchups, we should see Matthews' most dominant and productive post-season yet.
