Canadiens' defenseman actually sticks up for the Leafs amid heavy criticism of the Buds' late game decision-making
With the Toronto Maple Leafs trouncing the Montreal Canadiens, 6-1 in the late stages of the 3rd period, they were awarded a late power play and decided to send out their top power play unit, much to the chagrin of the Canadiens fan base. However, for Habs defenseman Mike Matheson, he had no problem with the decision. In fact, he understood it entirely.
The unwritten rules in sports is to never humiliate or truly embarrass your opponents in the waning minutes of a lost-game, however the Leafs decided to put their top guys out and ended up scoring their 7th of the game, courtesy of Michael Bunting.
Some Canadiens players and plenty within their fanbase were very critical of the Leafs icing their top unit that late in a runaway game. However, Mike Matheson was not upset by their decision, stating after the game that he understood the reasoning behind it.
He's not wrong, because they're going to need every game rep possible with the season winding down to go toe-to-toe with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Momentum and confidence are everything and the power play going 4 for 6 is a huge boost any way you look at it.
The goal itself should help Bunting as well, who scored his first goal in 5 games, his 2nd goal in 9 games, and just his 3rd goal in 15 games. Tavares was also in need of this big performance because he entered the night with only 3 goals in his previous 13 games - all of which came on the power play.
