Ex-Canadiens captain leaves no doubt about his opinion of Auston Matthews

By Ankit Kumar

Modified Nov 08, 2024 16:29 GMT

Former Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty spoke highly of Auston Matthews after Toronto Maple Leafs' practice on Thursday. Pacioretty didn’t hold back, calling Matthews the "best player in the world.”

Jonas Siegel of The Athletic reported that Auston Matthews who is dealing with upper-body injury didn’t practice on Thursday. Pacioretty practiced with the team and spoke about Matthews in the following address to the media.

Pacioretty emphasized how important Matthews is to the Maple Leafs lineup, saying,

"We're talking about the best player in the world here. So you want him in the lineup every night possible, and there's no replacing him."

Matthews missed Tuesday’s game against Boston and will also miss Friday’s game against Detroit, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube confirmed. He is also questionable for Saturday’s home game against Montreal.

"There's a boost when you know that he's in here, and you know, doing everything he can to come back and help the team." Pacioretty said. "Maybe that gives you a boost in a sense where it's like, we want to make sure that we do right by him. He's our leader. But I mean, once again, we're talking about the best player in the world. It's tough to justify..."

Pacioretty recently joined the Maple Leafs on a one-year deal this past offseason. He noted that Matthews doesn’t rely on risky moves to create offense and understands the game well.

"He (Matthews) doesn't score goals one way." Pacioretty said. "He doesn't cheat to create offense. He understands the situations of the game. He's a beast on the puck, quick feet. I mean, he's got it all."

Auston Matthews has had a slow start this season, with only five goals and 11 points in 13 games. He is a three-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner and last season finished the League with 69 points.

Maple Leafs dominated the Boston Bruins without Auston Matthews in the lineup

The Toronto Maple Leafs won 4-0 against the Boston Bruins. They went 3-for-7 on the power play, their first game with more than two power-play goals this season. Morgan Rielly scored the first PPG in the second period and William Nylander scored the second on the power play to make it 2-0.

Matthew Knies scored another power-play goal and Steven Lorentz finished the game with an empty-net goal at 15:58. Boston couldn’t capitalize on their power play, while the Maple Leafs took full advantage of theirs.