Auston Matthews
- Thread starter disco
- Start date
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
I get that the rest of your post was tounge-in-cheek, but is "Matthews is tailing off" a thing people are saying? Prior to the West coast trip he had 15 points in his past 12 games.
The 2nd half of season 1 is usually more difficult for players as the other teams get to know them and figure out how to play them better. Lesser players fade and some even disappear. I'm not worried about Matthews, he's a very smart player and will adjust to counter the opposition.
Highlander
Active member
How did I get brought into this? 8)Nik the Trik said:
Bates said:
I got to thinking about payoffs the other night and how some teams just can't succeed in them despite having a fairly competent team.
I think some players are very good at capitalizing on mistakes and they are able to have success during the regular season because each night they are facing a new team, that could be subject to a bunch of different variables that could effect their play on the ice on any given night.
However come playoff time, you are facing the same team over and over again. The intensity gets ratcheted up, and for the most part you are dealing with the 16 best teams left in the league and their focus is on developing a gameplan that maximizes their success and limits yours.
Because of this, you need cerebral/skilled players that can adapt quickly to what the opposition is doing to nullify them, and expose/create weaknesses. Kind of like a Velociraptor testing an electric fence. I think that Matthews, Marner and Nylander all fall in to this category.
On the flip side though, you also need defensive players that can read and adjust to what the other team is trying to do to score. The Leafs are still lacking here.
azzurri63
Active member
I agree with Nik and I posted this way back after his first long slump. Personally felt he was snake bitten as he was getting a lot of chances few posts here and there. He has been consistent all year as far as being noticeable pretty well every game. Been a delight to watch every game. Last night I thought was his worst game of the season. He'll bounce back but Babcock has to get him out more on the PP. Last night he came out on the 2nd PP every time. Should be on the first PP unit I feel.
McGarnagle
New member
Zee said:
Yeah, he's been on the quiet side the last few weeks. But at some point, they're going to have to give him something to really work with - I've no problem with Brown playing top 9, but if Hyman never sees Matthews' line again, that'd work fine for me.
If Bozak had hyman and Brown, and Matthews had Marner+JVR since the first game of the season, I'd be really curious at the point differences for Matthews.
L K
Active member
Nik the Trik said:
That's my take on him. I think he has really only had a handful of below average games all year. What we do see is that playing him with two players who are questionable top 6 players is that on nights that Matthews isn't the driving force of the offense, he isn't going to put up points.
Compare that to the other rookies near the top of the scoring sheets. Laine is playing with Scheifele. Marner is playing with JVR/Bozak (proven 50+/20 goal players). Nylander has flipped around but at least for stretches has been able to play with a guy like Kadri.
If the point spread between Laine and Matthews continues to grow, Babcock playing Matthews with Brown/Hyman is likely going to cost him a fair number of ROY votes. Maybe that shouldn't be the priority but I think there are still too many voters who are going to look at raw points in their voting decision.
mr grieves
New member
Nik the Trik said:
He does seem to be looking frustrated lately and hasn't seemed to be getting the high quality chances he managed during his previous lulls.
Kin
New member
mr grieves said:
To that end, and I understand it's tough to be overly critical when what the team is going with has been successful, but you ideally would have hoped his role on the PP would grow as the season went along but being on the second unit is going to mean his PP time will vary pretty wildly from game to game.
gilmourthegreat
New member
If only we had a guy sitting in the press box who has shown recent chemistry with Matthews.
Highlander
Active member
Tigger Williams??Gilmour the Great said:
gilmourthegreat
New member
Highlander said:
I think we're Leiving someone out...
L K
Active member
Nik the Trik said:
Well, that would mostly be my point. I mean I don't think we should be just letting Matthews cherry pick to rack up points, but it seems like sitting Leivo when he was killing it in the lineup just so you can dress Matt Martin every night seems counter productive to winning. As a byproduct of that, you are improving the quality of linemate for Matthews so that he no longer has to carrying around two weights.
I think it's exactly that frustrating feeling that I take issue with.
