Matthews rips home his first of the playoffs with AUTHORITY, combines with Marner for 6 points in Game 1
Last season, the biggest problem that the Leafs had against the Montreal Canadiens in round one was that their top players simply were not putting the puck in the net. This year, their first round opponent is a lot tougher, but the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup champions just could not contain Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner on Monday.
Matthews and Marner combined for 3 goals and 6 points on Monday, getting the Leafs off to a perfect start, including this absolute howitzer from Matthews for his first of the postseason on the power play during the second period.
Obviously, everyone knows that Matthews is an elite goal scorer. He scores at will during the regular season, but prior to last night, the 24-year-old had just 3 goals in his previous 12 playoff games, which was one of the primary reasons that the Leafs could not get the job done against Columbus and Montreal in back-to-back seasons. But, with a pair of goals last night, Matthews broke the ice and took the pressure off of himself immediately, which should help him to play a lot more loosely and free-flowing, as opposed to gripping his stick a little too tight.
The back-to-back Rocket Richard Trophy winner is going to be a real threat in this year's playoffs.
| POLL | ||
MAI 3 | 435 ANSWERS Matthews rips home his first of the playoffs with AUTHORITY, combines with Marner for 6 points in Game 1 Will the Leafs win Game 2 against the Bolts on Wednesday? | ||
| Yes | 381 | 87.6 % |
| No | 54 | 12.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
