Matthews and Marner show legitimate signs of life at 5-on-5 against Boston
Heading into last night's game against the Boston Bruins, Maple Leafs forwards Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner each had just one 5-on-5 goal through the Leafs' first nine games. With the Leafs down 2-0 in the second period, Matthews and Marner both found the scoresheet at five-on-five in a matter of 63 seconds to even the game up at 2 goals apiece.
Prior to the game, Marner was asked about his and Matthews' struggles at five-on-five.
"Just got to have trust in our game. When we're going well, we're getting in on the forecheck, we're stripping pucks. We've had moments of that throughout the season, but just not enough. We've got to be better, and we will be better. I need to be a bit more of a threat as a shooter, be a little more selfish in those areas so it opens up Auston a little more."
Marner and Matthews played their best games since the start of the season last night. Although Matthews struggled severely on faceoffs, not winning a single draw, he and Marner were all over the ice and attacking on both sides of the puck. Their play was noticed and praised by Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe.
"Really encouraging sign. Two huge goals. Key moment. They bring us back. So, yeah, that's really good. I would expect that they don't look back from here."
Keefe believes that Marner and Matthews have found their groove again, as does Marner, who explained how they got out of the slump they were in.
"The good thing about our line is, we always got trust in each other that we will get out of the little kind of hiccup that we were in."
Matthews finished the game with a goal and an assist, along with 5 shots on goal and 5 blocks in a little over 22:30 of ice time, while Marner finished the game with 1 goal on 3 shots, along with 2 takeaways and 2 blocks in just under 25 minutes of ice time.
Marner and Matthews will look to build on a successful game at 5-on-5 when the Leafs return home to take on the Buffalo Sabres at ScotiaBank Arena on Saturday night to kick off a 5-game homestand.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 3 | 414 ANSWERS Matthews and Marner show legitimate signs of life at 5-on-5 against Boston Should Matthew Knies get an opportunity to play with Marner and Matthews? | ||
| Yes | 347 | 83.8 % |
| No | 27 | 6.5 % |
| Only in certain situations | 40 | 9.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
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