Matthews had 12 shots on goal and wired one off the crossbar, but the player's mind is in the right place going into the Stanley Cup Playoffs
Matthews had 12 shots on goal and wired one off the crossbar, but the player's mind is in the right place going into the Stanley Cup Playoffs
TAMPA, Fla. — Auston Matthews' parents were in town with the possibility of watching history. His Toronto Maple Leafs teammates valiantly tried to get him the puck at every opportunity. But at the end of the night, Toronto's top sniper was left off the scoresheet and finished just one shy of 70 goals for a season in a 6-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Wednesday.
After deflecting all the talk about himself and the personal goals leading up to the end of the regular season, Matthews took some time to admit after the game that hitting 70 goals is something he had hoped to get to, once it looked like it was in sight.
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"I wanted it for sure, but it just wasn't meant to be," Matthews said. "For myself, we look forward, you turn the page, and the most important thing is the team and the team's success, and making sure that I'm pulling my weight and doing what I can as a leader on this team, and individually to help the team win. And especially as we go into the postseason. So that's where my focus is at."
The Maple Leafs went into this game knowing they'd be meeting the Boston Bruins in the opening round of the playoffs beginning with Game 1 on Saturday. The Lightning were in the same boat, knowing they visit the Florida Panthers on Sunday. So there was little for Toronto risk how open they were about trying to help their star player achieve what hadn't been done in over 30 years.
Matthews finished the game with a game-high 12 shots on net. Not included in that was a wrist shot that he fired that slammed off the crossbar and out of play.
"We tried everything we could (to get him the puck)" Tyler Bertuzzi said of Matthews on Wednesday, "As you can see at the end, everyone was trying to get him to puck as much as possible no matter where he was. He had a couple of good looks. Yeah, they just didn't go in."
In the final minute, the camera caught Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe sharing a moment with Matthews on the bench.
"I was just acknowledging how there was 34 seconds left in the game, which was pretty fitting for the type of season that he's had," Keefe said of Matthews. For a regular season to come to an end like that. "There's been a lot of focus on the pursuit of 70 goals. But in that you kind of lose sight of just how well he's played. He's playing well, feeling well. And it's been fun to watch.
"I mean, give him those types of chances and those types of shots and he might have got 75. But not meant to be and that's okay. Sixty-nine (goals) is an unbelievable season. And yeah, 34 seconds on the clock. It tells me there's more great things to come for Auston and our team."
Matthews picks up his third Rocket Richard Trophy, handed out annually to the player who scores the most goals in a season. Earlier in the day he was named Toronto's nominee for the King Clancy Trophy, handed out annually who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.
But once the regular season concluded here, Matthews quickly shifted his mindset to a deep playoff run, something the star player as yet to experience in his eight-year, NHL career.
"This is where we want to have our success. And this is where we want to make sure that we're elevating our game," Matthew said. "For myself individually, I want to take another step. So we turn the page now and get focused on that."
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