Next-to-last Chicago subdued the Leafs and Matthews' line twice. That's when defenseman Alex Vlasic knew he belonged in the NHL.

You don't have to be the deep, talented Boston Bruins to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs. And NHL goal-scoring leader Auston Matthews doesn't have to be sick to be shut down.

The 31st-place Chicago Blackhawks, who won only 23 games last season, defeated the Maple Leafs both times the teams met in 2023-24. Matthews didn't have a point in those contests and was combined minus-4.

The Leafs face another early playoff elimination on Tuesday night in Boston, down three games to one in their series with the Bruins. Matthews, suffering from a mystery illness, was pulled from the third period of 3-1 loss in Game 4 at Scotiabank Arena.

Toronto has won just one playoff series since 2004, beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games last year. The Leafs haven't won the Stanley Cup since 1967, when former Blackhawks general manager Bob Pulford had 45 points for them and their roster was 100% Canadian.

Blackhawks Raked the Leafs in 2023-24

During Chicago's convincing 4-1 win at Toronto on Oct 16, 2023, Blackhawks 22-year-old defenseman Alex Vlasic realized he could play — and play well — in the NHL.

"The Toronto win was really cool," said the 6-foot-6 Vlasic. "That was kind of a turning point for me in the year pretty early on. It was like, 'I'm here and like I'm pretty good.'

"I just remember leaving that game and I was like 'Damn, like this is the NHL' and we had won, beat Toronto. And I was playing against Auston Matthews and their top line and we shut them down. It was a pretty cool feeling to have that success and kind of see it translate."

Vlasic had an assist and was a plus-3 that night. Ditto for his defense partner Seth Jones. 

Matthews was a minus-2 didn't score on any of eight shots on Arvid Söderblom. The Chicago goalie blocked 35 of 36 for the game.

John Tavares had the only Toronto goal, with William Nylander and Mark Giordano assisting.

Vlasic went on to have a terrific first full NHL season on a weak team, usually paired with Jones. The Chicago-area native, set to become an RFA, signed a new six-year, $27.6 million contract last week.

Big Comeback Win For Chicago

The Blackhawks beat Toronto more dramatically, 4-3 in overtime, in Chicago on Nov. 24, 2023. The United Center was packed with 20,238 fans on the Friday after U.S. Thanksgiving.

Toronto's big guns were held off the scoresheet in that game too. Once again, Matthews didn't make a mark and was a minus-2. He took four shots and Söderblom blocked them all.

Nylander, Tavares and Mitch Marner (minus-2) also went without a point.

Still, Toronto had built a 3-1 lead by early in the second period on goals by Nicholas Robertson, Calle Järnkrok and, yes, Ryan Reeves. Former Blackhawks Max Domi had two assists.

But the Blackhawks stormed back to tie it as Jason Dickinson scored all three Chicago goals in a regulation for his first NHL hat trick. From Georgetown, Ontario on the edge of the GTA, Dickinson fervently denied the Leafs were ever his hometown team after the game. See following video.

Rookie defenseman Kevin Korchinski won it at 4:30 of overtime. He beat Ilya Samsonov from a scramble near the net for his second NHL goal, with Connor Bedard and Philipp Kurashev assisting.