Auston Matthews' slow start seemingly has an explanation
Photo credit: Yahoo Sports
Auston Matthews has had it kind of rough this year with the Toronto Maple Leafs as he has yet to score a goal through three games. In fact, he doesn't have a single point.
However, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet made an interesting point on 32 Thoughts. As he explains, it would appear as though Matthews is actually focusing more on defense than ever before. In fact, the captaincy has brought this out of him. Now, Matthews is doing everything in his power so that his team is always in a position to win, regardless of whether or not he scores a goal.
"Matthews has no points after 3 games. It's rare for him, but it's not unheard of, but I thought the thing that was really interesting was I got a couple of texts from people who were like 'he's doing different stuff out there... what one guy said to me was that they put the C on him, and they say it's wrong to say that he didn't care about defense before, because he did, but it's almost like they said it raised him to like a higher level of consciousness about what he's suppose to be, right? And what the captain is supposed to be.
He might dispute that. I'm not sure he would like that, because he takes great pride in how well-rounded he wanted to be in the first place, but a couple of guys did say to me -- he doesn't give away a lot, but he almost looks completely unbothered by the fact that he's not producing while they're winning.
He's trying to be even more detailed than he was... I just thought that was an interesting take on him so far."
He might dispute that. I'm not sure he would like that, because he takes great pride in how well-rounded he wanted to be in the first place, but a couple of guys did say to me -- he doesn't give away a lot, but he almost looks completely unbothered by the fact that he's not producing while they're winning.
He's trying to be even more detailed than he was... I just thought that was an interesting take on him so far."
This should definitely be encouraging to all of the Leafs fans out there. He is taking his role as captain seriously and there is a real scenario in which he helps take this team to a Stanley Cup, even if he himself has to tame the production.
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Source: Maple Leafs Daily
Reason for Auston Matthews' Early Season Scoring Slump for the Leafs Revealed
Reason for Auston Matthews' Early Season Scoring Slump for the Leafs Revealed
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