Auston Matthews says the Leafs are doing their best not to focus on early-season criticism
Coming off of back-to-back losses, during which the Maple Leafs were not able to build any momentum against (at least on paper) inferior opponents, there is unrest in Leafs Nation, leaving some in doubt over whether or not the Leafs can fix things without making a major move.
On Monday, ahead of a tough matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes and former Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen, Auston Matthews brushed off the harsh criticism that his team has been facing after a lackluster 2-3-1 start.
«The noise and panic from the outside can't shake us. There's really no reason it should," said Matthews, alluding to the fact that it is still very early in the season and not yet time to press the panic button.
While much of the criticism is warranted, especially that relating to the offensive struggles of the Leafs' top dogs, there have also been some pretty solid early returns from youngsters Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin, along with newcomers Michael Bunting and David Kampf.
Add to that the play of the ageless wonder Jason Spezza and 25-year-old William Nylander, as well as the solid and steady goaltending of fan-favourite Jack Campbell, and the Leafs actually look like they have some positives to build off of.
Hopefully for Leafs fans, the trio of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and John Tavares can find a way to generate an offensive spark to avoid Leafs Nation going into a full-blown meltdown.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Kyle Connor | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alex Tuch | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Owen Power | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Michael Bunting | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Drew Helleson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jirí Kulich | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Isac Lundestrom | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Vladislav Namestnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nino Niederreiter | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Vilardi | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jason Zucker | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Leo Carlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ross Johnston | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Evgeni Malkin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Morrissey | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Cole Perfetti | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Bryan Rust | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mark Scheifele | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Trevor Zegras | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 20 | 17 | 3 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||