Auston Matthews is taking the hits while delivering them. It has resulted in the star forward leading the NHL in net penalties with six drawn and none taken.
WINNIPEG — Auston Matthews admitted that the cross-check he received from Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn toward the end of the first period of Thursday's 3-2 overtime win stung him for more than 24 hours, leading to a day off from practice to recover.
But in the end, it might have been worth it.
Matthews followed that incident by drawing a pair of penalties. The first one was a tripping call by Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen at the start of the second period and that translated into a power-play goal for Alex Kerfoot. Although Toronto didn't score on Matthews' second drawn penalty, the call came at a critical time in the game midway through the third period with both teams tied 2-2.
"I think I'm just trying to read off what they're trying to do and get body position and kind of force them to take a penalty," Matthews said of his approach.
Matthews struggled to draw penalties last season. On December 7, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe mused about the standard of officiating when he noted that, up until that point, his star forward had not drawn an even-strength penalty all season.
"Which is strange considering how much he has the puck and how involved he is," Keefe said at the time.
The problem didn't improve.
On Mar. 10, the Maple Leafs were tied 4-4 in overtime when Matthews was the recipient of a hold by Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun. There was no call and the defenseman scored the OT winner on the same play.
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"It's early in the season, we'll see how it goes and how things are called throughout the season, Keefe said. "Early on he's getting those calls. At the same time, he's engaged and involved in a lot of stuff that's happening, physically."
Matthews has just one goal and three points in five games this season. It's certainly low for his standard of play, but much of that has to do with his team's early struggles on the power play, particularly with the first unit that features Toronto's top stars.
But getting more penalty calls should help translate into more power-play chances and more offense in the long run.
And that should free up Matthews, as well.
"Naturally, it should give him some space over time," Keefe said of Matthews. "If the opponents are going to start getting those calls, the opponent is going to have to be a little more conscious of what they're doing."