Matthews’ Star Performance Was the Catalyst for Maple Leafs Game 2 Win

Matthews asserted his dominance on Tuesday and was influential on all three Toronto goals, as he recorded a primary assist on Max Domi’s goal that tied the game shortly after the Bruins took a 1-0 lead. He recorded another assist on John Tavares’ power-play goal that tied the game up 2-2. And he finally gave the Leafs the lead by scoring a goal of his own on a breakaway with one of the filthiest moves we have seen in a shooter vs. goaltender situation in these playoffs.

Even outside of his three points, Matthews was effective in ways that won’t show up on the morning highlights. Namely when he found a loose puck behind goaltender Ilya Samsonov and smothered the disk into his goalie’s pads to get a whistle in the final moments of the third period. Without that play and Matthews’ spacial awareness, David Pastrnak was right on the doorstep and could have sent the game to overtime. 

Matthews’ Line Was the Best in the Game

With Matthews leading the charge for the Leafs’ offence, he needed players that could help him in Toronto’s quest for victory. He got that help with his two linemates Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi. This is a relatively new line, as they were just put together within the last month by head coach Sheldon Keefe, but Domi and Bertuzzi were instrumental in the Leafs’ success in Game 2. 

On Domi’s opening goal, Matthews hit the crossbar, and with the puck in front of Linus Ullmark, Bertuzzi tied up his defender in front of the net, giving Domi a wide-open net to shoot on with no one near him to stop him. On the final goal of the game, Matthews scored a stupendous breakaway goal, but that tally would not have happened without the alley-oop pass from Domi that was sent perfectly to Matthews. He was able to go up and catch the puck like he was David Tyree in Super Bowl 42.

This Must Continue for the Leafs To Win the Series

If the Leafs want to win this series, they will need more of these performances from Matthews and his linemates. There have been too many times in past playoff series that Matthews has given the Leafs a spectacular playoff performance and then gets shut down completely in the following game or games. If Toronto finally wants to beat this playoff monster that they have known as the Bruins, they will need Matthews to be as good as he was in Game 2 for the rest of the series. He’s an elite player and has shown how elite he is time and time again in the regular season. It’s now time for him to not just be a great player but be the best player in this series.

Matthews’ Game 2 performance was a statement from the former first-overall pick, but the job is far from over. If he can play this way for the rest of the series, the Leafs may finally slay the Bruins.