Auston Matthews' post-win comments are a pretty good indicator of where the Leafs' heads are at right now
With the Leafs down 4-1 with 10 minutes to go in the third, Auston Matthews put the team on his back and scored twice in three minutes to bring the Leafs to within one goal. Morgan Rielly picked up where Matthews left off, scoring with four minutes left to tie the game, which set the stage for Alexander Kerfoot to tipped in Mark Giordano's point shot in overtime to complete the comeback, taking the game by a score of 5-4 to put the Leafs up 3-1 in the series.
Following his most career-defining moment so far, Matthews spoke to the media and revealed that while Monday's win was a big one, the job is not yet done. Matthews has been in this position before, up 3-1 in the series with everyone assuming the Leafs would finish off the series in their 3 remaining attempts, only to come up short against the Canadiens in 2021. So, natrually, his post-game comments were about re-focusing and the Leafs keeping their heads level knowing that there's still work to be done.
The Leafs have lacked the "killer instinct", as the media has been quick to point out in years past, including last year when they had two chances to eliminate Tampa in Games 6 and 7. However, the last two games are games the Leafs would likely have lost in the past. However, they have now shown that they are capable of flipping the switch and turning nothing into something. Will the Leafs be able to close out their first series win in 19 years on Thursday? The belief in the locker room is that they can. Now they just need to put it into action and show the world that they aren't just the same old Leafs.
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25 AVRIL | 1532 ANSWERS Auston Matthews' post-win comments are a pretty good indicator of where the Leafs' heads are at right now What will the result of the Tampa/Toronto series be? | ||
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