The Toronto Maple Leafs are going through a difficult stretch after suffering three consecutive losses: a 5-4 defeat to the Utah Mammoth on October 13, a 5-4 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres on October 15 after taking a 4-2 lead and failing to hold on to it, and finally a 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Saturday, October 17, in what was perhaps the worst game of the Toronto franchise’s season so far.
Several players came under scrutiny, as Saturday’s game was a pointless night for captain Auston Matthews, as well as Gavin McKenna, Jack Roslovic, Kirill Marchenko, and others.
After the game, Mike Augello joined Zack Phillips on Daily Faceoff’s “After Dark” to break down Saturday’s matchup and share some thoughts on Matthews.
Maple Leafs Handed Harsh Auston Matthews Review After Islanders Clash
Although Augello acknowledged that Matthews had had a spectacular season up to that point and that fans were once again seeing the version of the captain they hadn’t seen in quite some time, he believes the game against the Islanders was the captain’s first bad performance of the season. He said Matthews wasn’t dominant.
He said, “This was Matthew’s first bad game of the season. I mean, he’s been fantastic so far. He looks like the old Matthews. He was fairly, well, he wasn’t very noticeable, you know; he had four blocked shots. He had one shot on goal.”
“So it’s like it wasn’t exactly a dominant performance, especially with the fact that, you know, Tavares is going to be out for who knows how long. You needed your number one center to sort of step up.”
This season, Matthews has played nine games and recorded six goals and seven assists for 13 points. The Mexican-American forward had a couple of scoreless games at the start of the season, but he scored against the Ottawa Senators on October 3 and has continued to record points in every game since then, except for the aforementioned matchup against the Islanders.
Maple Leafs’ Benoit-Olivier Groulx Slammed as ‘Useless’ After Islanders Game
In any case, Augello’s comments about Matthews were nothing compared to the criticism he directed at forward Bo Groulx, whom he described as useless.
He said, “There are passengers on this roster right now. I don’t understand why Bo Groulx is in the NHL. I don’t. He, to me, and you know, I don’t think this is overstating it. I think he’s a useless player.”
Maple Leafs Handed Blunt Auston Matthews Assessment: ‘Not Dominant’