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NHL analyst makes his feelings known on Toronto Maple Leafs' power play excelling during Auston Matthews' absence
The Toronto Maple Leafs notched a decisive 4-0 win against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday, even without captain Auston Matthews in the lineup. Despite struggling on the power play and ranking 31st in the league, the team capitalized on three out of seven power-play chances and killed off all six of Boston's attempts.
In Matthews' absence, other players stepped up, especially on special teams. The Leafs managed well with Marner and Knies taking on more responsibility.
NHL analyst Craig Button shared his thoughts on the Toronto Maple Leafs' power-play performance on Sports Center, responding to whether Matthews' absence was the reason behind the improvement. Button said the team simply executed well on the power play.
"Auston Matthews being out was not the cause or the ultimate effect of them going three for seven. Bottom line is the power play was rolling. That’s a positive sign for the Toronto Maple Leafs," Button said.
William Nylander leads Maple Leafs to win without Auston Matthews against Bruins
William Nylander, who scored and assisted on a power play, said the team stepped up in Matthews' absence.
“Maybe everybody just has a little bit more compete to their game,” he said (via TSN).
He believed the team's improvement came from everyone contributing, not just from Matthews being out. Morgan Rielly, who scored and assisted on the power play, cautioned against getting too excited over just one win.
"I don't think we're going to get carried away thinking we got anything solved," Rielly said. "It was a matter of time, it was about sticking with the process."
Coach Craig Berube said Matthews was "fighting through" an injury, but it wasn’t related to his past wrist issues.
"Everybody just needs to do their job out there," Berube said. "I don't think you focus on, 'Oh, Auston's not playing so what are we going to do?' We've got a good team, got good players. People are going to get a little different look in situations, lines, things like that. They're capable guys, good players. You've just got to go play," Berube said.
Max Domi took on the role of centering a new line with Mitch Marner and Matthew Knies, both of whom contributed offensively. This win was especially important as the Bruins had dominated the Leafs in their previous nine encounters.
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