Leafs Coach Craig Berube Directly Responsible for Auston Matthews' Quiet Start
Auston Matthews has gotten off to a slow start this season offensively thanks to how his usage has changed under new coach Craig Berube.
The Leafs have the same 6-5-2 record as they did last season after 13 games, but Auston Matthews has half as many goals as he had through the same number of games. Very concerning.
With the Leafs playing a more direct, physical and defensive game under Berube, the offense has essentially dried up as the Leafs rank 16th in goals for per game with 3. Matthews has just 5 goals and 11 points through 13 games this year, compared to his 11 goals and 4 assists at the same point last season, but defensively, Matthews has been given much more responsibility.
Following their loss on Sunday to Minnesota, JD Bunkis and Sam McKee agreed that Matthews has looked different this season, without looking into the reason why.
According to Natural Stat Trick, Berube has entrusted Matthews far more than Sheldon Keefe did last season in the defensive zone. Last season, Matthews had 14 defensive zone starts at 5-on-5 after 13 games with 17:40 total time-on-ice at 4-on-5. Under Berube so far this season, Matthews has more than doubled his defensive zone starts with 29 at 5-on-5 and added an extra 10 minutes to his time-on-ice at 4-on-5 to 27:12.
Matthews is currently sacrificing his offensive production to be a better defensive player. He has certainly had his chances offensively, and may be squeezing his stick a little tighter than normal, but the goals will come as the team continues to fine tune the adjustments they have to make in Berube's new system. It also doesn't help that the power play has been atrocious to begin the season, but with a goal on Sunday, hopefully that will turn around and Matthews will be able to capitalize more with the man-advantage.
It was always going to be difficult for Matthews to live up to the 70-goal expectations this season after nearly reaching the mark last year, but if sacrificing regular season stats for success in the playoffs is what gets the Leafs deeper into the post-season, I'm sure Matthews would be fine with a reduced goal total.
