Auston Matthews delivers the mother of all quotes ahead of Game 7
There's no doubt that the Toronto Maple Leafs were disappointed with the result of Thursday night's Game 6 in Tampa, mostly due to the fact that they deserved the win, without question. Unfortunately for the Buds, Andrei Vasilevksiy and the NHL officials had other plans.
Vasilevskiy absolutely stood on his head in overtime, making 9 saves, including more than one absolute beauty to keep his team in the game. Meanwhile, the officials sat around and allow this to happen:
I wish I could say this was the only missed call, however, there were two missed elbows and one missed interference call, which could have all benefitted the Leafs in overtime as well. But, as Auston Matthews pointed out after the game, what's done is done. There's no changing it now.
The questions of the Leafs' heart and will to win has certainly quieted significantly during this series with the Lightning, due at least in part to the fact that the Leafs have not quit, clawing their way back in Games 5 and 6 when they were down a pair and stole Game 5 and nearly did the same in Game 6.
Game 7 is a different animal entirely. We know that the Tampa Bay Lightning thrive in those big pressure moments. But, eventually the Leafs are going to break through that glass ceiling and stun someone in the first round. What better way to usher in a new era in Toronto than to defeat the defending Stanley Cup champs at home at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday in front of a capacity crowd?
By the sounds of things, Auston Matthews is ready. Now it's just up to the coaching staff to get the matchups that they want, to Jack Campbell to shut the door and to the team in front of him to show up on time and put forth a full 60-minute effort, stay out of the box and convert on their chances.
| POLL | ||
MAI 13 | 849 ANSWERS Auston Matthews delivers the mother of all quotes ahead of Game 7 How many goals will Auston Matthews score in Game 7? | ||
| 0 | 70 | 8.2 % |
| 1 | 174 | 20.5 % |
| 2 | 498 | 58.7 % |
| 3+ | 107 | 12.6 % |
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