Maple Leafs ‘soaking it in’ as Matthews’ historic goal pace continues

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Just sit back and enjoy it.

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As much as the Maple Leafs are in the thick of the final push to the Stanley Cup playoffs, you can’t blame them for getting caught up in what Auston Matthews is doing. 

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Scoring 60 goals twice in a span of three seasons can have that impact on teammates, and there’s room for the players to be fans as well.

“I’m soaking it in,” Leafs winger Ryan Reaves said. “I’ve had better seats than anybody. It has been fun to watch.

“I’ve never played with a guy that can score like that and put the puck where he can. I’m really proud of him for (scoring 60 again).”

Before the Leafs met the Florida Panthers on Monday night at Scotiabank Arena, Matthews had nine games to reach 70 for the first time.

“Eighty is possible for that guy,” Reaves said, presumably referring to a season in the future. “Anything is possible with him, the way he shoots the puck.”

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When defenceman Jake McCabe learned that Matthews became just the ninth player in National Hockey League history to record multiple 60-goal seasons, he had to wrap his mind around that fact.

“Pretty amazing,” McCabe said. “We’re watching history. It’s pretty impressive to watch day in and day out how he gets it done.”

The respect, naturally, flowed from the Panthers dressing room as well.

“Probably the best goal-scorer in the league — well, obviously — since he’s the only guy at 60,” Matthew Tkachuk said. “Over the last bunch of years, even when he has not been not scoring 60, he is a threat to score each game. And there’s going to be a lot more goals, for sure.”

Reaves, meanwhile, threw a compliment Tkachuk’s way. There’s no doubt that Tkachuk will be a large thorn for the Panthers’ first-round opponent, and if it’s Toronto, the Leafs will try to be as prepared as possible.

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“He’s the heartbeat of that team,” Reaves said. “He’s got a lot of skill, he plays hard, he plays in your face. He plays a lot of minutes so you have to match that, you have to outdo it, you got to get in his face. You can’t react to him, but you have to make sure that you’re not backing down from it.”

RATTLING THE SABRES

If you’ve put on a replica sweater of your favourite Leafs player, hopped in the car and gone to the KeyBank Center in Buffalo to get behind the visiting team, know that you’re having an impact. 

Though thousands of Leafs fans make the trek for each Toronto game in Western New York, there was a little more electricity in the air this past Saturday when the Leafs beat the Sabres 3-0. 

While NHL players will stress the importance of blocking out the noise, McCabe confirmed that the throngs of blue and white fans at games in Buffalo have an effect on the Sabres.

McCabe would know, having been a full-time Sabre from 2015 to 2021.

“It’s deflating, there’s no other way to put it,” McCabe said. “You go out on your home ice and it’s not your home ice anymore. It’s a cool thing that we get to enjoy on this side.

“(Saturday) was awesome. Our fans are amazing. It was no different in Buffalo. It was rockin’ and it was fun.”

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About an hour after the game ended, forward Max Domi posted this to X: “Leaf nation was BUZZING tonight! What an atmosphere. What a night for 34! Huge w. Best crowd of the year!”

LOOSE LEAFS

Leafs 2023 first-round pick Easton Cowan is the London Knights’ nominee for the Red Tilson Trophy, awarded to the most outstanding player in the Ontario Hockey League. Cowan had 96 points in 54 games and ended the regular season on a 36-game point streak … Panthers coach Paul Maurice on knowing when to call out his team publicly, as Sheldon Keefe did last week following the Leafs loss against the New Jersey Devils: “You want to know the truth? I think it’s a whole lot harder up here than it is where I am. I think you are more calculated here, (going back to) my brief time here (as Leafs coach from 2006-08). This is a completely different animal than what I deal with. I have the luxury of being able to go and say how I feel (without it being dissected everywhere).” … Defenceman Morgan Rielly took part in the Leafs’ optional morning skate and remains day to day with an upper-body injury. He’s not far away from returning to the lineup, though. “He’s close to 100%,” Keefe said. Rielly has missed the past four games … Mitch Marner also was on the ice for the skate as he continues to come back from an ankle injury. Marner should be a full participant in practice on Tuesday at the Ford Performance Centre, and Rielly could be as well … The Leafs recalled defenceman Marshall Rifai from the Toronto Marlies after sending him back to the minors on Sunday. Like his recall on Saturday, the move back to the NHL was made for insurance purposes as the Leafs have just six healthy defencemen with Rielly, Joel Edmundson and Timothy Liljegren injured. Rifai took the warmup and was scratched … It’s almost unheard of for the Leafs to have an optional morning skate after a full day off, but with the playoffs looming, Keefe wants to give players the option of taking a breather when possible. Still, on Monday, Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares and David Kampf were the only Leafs who took the morning off … The Leafs’ ECHL affiliate, the Newfoundland Growlers, could have their operations suspended on Tuesday. The ECHL reportedly had set a deadline for Deacon Sports and Entertainment, the owner of the Growlers, to sell the team by April 2 because of unpaid bills. The ECHL’s board of governors were scheduled to meet on Tuesday to decide the team’s fate.

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X: @koshtorontosun

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