Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube knows quite well what his team will be up against in Round 2 of the playoffs. “They play a hard game, I agree. They forecheck hard, they’re physical, they’re in your face the whole game.” But is he intimidated? Nahh. “We’re a physical team too. And we have to be physical ourselves. We have to initiate as much as possible.” Having a coach who refuses to flinch is definitely going to give Auston Matthews and co. some serious confidence going into the next round. But is that the only ace up their sleeves?
Nylander, Marner, Matthews, Tavares… yeah, this lineup’s got some serious heat to bring. But hold up, things just got extra spicy. Word on the ice is that Auston Matthews has had a little Florida insight; thanks to one of his own teammates. Yep, someone inside the Maple Leafs locker room might’ve given him a little backstage pass to the Panthers’ secrets, and fans are buzzing. The defending champs won’t go down easy, but neither will the Leafs.
In a video the Leafs dropped, a reporter tossed Auston Matthews a pretty slick question, asking if he’d chatted with any of the three ex-Panthers now rocking the blue and white. And honestly, you could see the wheels turning. When you’re about to face off with the champs, a little insider scoop never hurts. That question hit different: “Austin did you talk to any of the three former Florida guys ahead of the series about their takeaways from being on that team last year?” And without missing a beat, Matthews gave it to us straight, with that cool, calm playoff vibe.
“Yeah it’s good to have those guys’ perspective obviously you know them being on that team last year that won and being close I’m sure with a lot of those guys. So it’s I think it’s always good to get you know their perspective on things you know things that we can be aware of things that we can you know assert ourselves in and stuff like that.” Basically, he’s out here doing playoff homework with the best study buddies in the biz. A little Panther wisdom never hurt anybody—and now the Leafs have more than just tape, they’ve got real voices in the room who’ve been deep in the trenches.
So here we go again; Leafs vs. Panthers, Round 2 style, with way more spice in the mix. Florida knows the drill; after all, they knocked Toronto out on their road to the Cup last year. But oh, how the tables have swirled! Now, three ex-Panthers; Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Steven Lorentz, and Anthony Stolarz, are rocking that Leafs blue, ready to throw down against their old squad. And yep, the Panthers will have to go through their own former brothers if they wanna chase that shiny repeat. It all kicks off Monday night at 8, with the drama set in Toronto. Popcorn? Essential.
Coach Paul Maurice kept it classy, sending love to his old guys, saying, “Those guys—they’re not just ‘were’ a big part of it; that story gets to endure in our locker room for the men that played, so they still are a big part of that story. I’m happy they’ve been able to find a place where their opportunity and their input to the success of the Toronto Maple Leafs is really important.” But emotions aside, Maurice says both squads look way different, and that there are no spill-overs from the 2023 series, which the Panthers won in five games. Well, he’s not wrong, Brobovsky, because of whom Stolarz’s time on the ice was limited, is going to have an interesting battle with his former partner, who made a career-high 34 appearances this past regular season. And Barkov’s keeping it real too—yeah, they’ve got Cup-tested battle scars now, but every playoff run hits different. And yep, Auston Matthews and his team are all set to dominate!
Auston Matthews is all ready to dominate in round 2!
Alright, so here we go; Leafs and Panthers, Round 2: The Remix. But this ain’t the same old script. This time, Auston Matthews isn’t just rolling in with his golden stick and sniper aim; he’s bringing serious boss energy in the faceoff circle too. Through six playoff games, he’s rocking a 59.5% win rate, and in that spicy Game 6 closer in Ottawa? Dude went 16-for-22 on the dot, basically lived in the circle rent-free. Tavares was out here singing his praises: “He’s got tremendous hands and timing with the puck all over the ice. So not surprising that he brings that to the dot along with his size and the leverage that he can create. So, very intelligent player.”
Under Berube’s watch, Matthews turned from a straight-up goal machine into this beast of an all-situations weapon. He’s killing penalties, working power plays, backchecking with grit, and oh yeah, casually throwing up a cool 78 points in just 67 games. The numbers? Unreal. Career-high faceoff percentage, seven points in Round 1, big-time defensive moments. And Berube noticed. Called him a full-package leader. Said the man was everywhere, bodying dudes, winning draws, scoring clutch goals, basically just running the whole show.
But now? He’s stepping into a heavyweight tilt against Aleksander Barkov, the faceoff king, the two-way wizard, the Selke-level chess master on the other side. Matthews called him “probably the best two-way center” in the league, and yeah, it’s about to get real. Both of ’em are killing it at nearly 60% on draws this postseason, so it’s gonna be a battle of inches, brains, and brute force. Last time the Leafs ran into Florida, they couldn’t hang in the middle. But now, with Matthews 2.0 ready to dance in the circle? This NHL rematch might just hit different.
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