Auston Matthews Calls Game 'Weird' - But It May Signal Bigger Maple Leafs Issue
Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
For the Toronto Maple Leafs it was a disappointing preseason loss to Detroit, however for Auston Matthews he felt it was much more bizarre than that.
Thursday night's preseason game against Detroit did not go Toronto's way, as the team wasn't able to really get much going beyond Auston Matthews' first-period one-timer, and ended up falling to their Original Six rivals by a 3-1 score.
Matthew Knies ended up throwing an elbow that might get him fined, the team was outshot 42-19, and ended up with 14 PIM as opposed to Detroit's 8.
Auston Matthews Reflects on Strange Preseason Game
That was something that irked captain Auston Matthews, who spoke to reporters after the game and mentioned that the game itself had a very odd quality about it that he couldn't quite nail down:
Tonight was a weird game, you know with the penalties, and just tough to kind of find a rhythm throughout.
But Matthews was also explaining in the same sentiment that he felt physically good and the weirdness of the game has no effect on his physical health, more just kept him perplexed throughout.
Although the game may have been weird for Matthews, he was very complimentary towards his team, and mentioned that Anthony Stolarz was a huge reason as to why the team was able to hang in there after being essentially dominated in the shot category.
What Matthews' Comments Reveal About the Maple Leafs' Preparation
It's hard to blame Matthews or the rest of the team if they are getting blasted with penalty calls all night, and while there are some discipline issues that clearly need to be worked on, a couple of calls were a bit egregious.
Toronto was prepared with their full-lineup however seemingly weren't prepared for the referees. Thankfully the team was able to kill off all six penalties they took, including a double-minor to Steven Lorentz, so at least their new PK units are working.
They were successful under Lane Lambert and found a big turnaround last season so their hope is they can build off of that in 2025-26.
That's a huge sign of progress for a team who lost Lambert, and have a brand new group of killers, and kudos to assistant Derek Lalonde for shaping the group as it is thus far to great success
With the referees keeping a keen eye on things and seemingly focused on punishing the Maple Leafs at times, the team is at least prepared for what comes their way this year.
If they can find themselves comfortable killing off penalties like they did against Detroit, it could be a big season ahead.
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