Why the Toronto Maple Leafs Struggle to Win With Auston Matthews Since His Return

When Auston Matthews was injured at the beginning of November, the worse was feared and Toronto would suffer mightily without their captain.

On the contrary, they rattled off a 7-2-0 streak sans Matthews and looked like the dominant force to reign atop the Atlantic Division.

However, since Matthews returned Nov. 30, Toronto has gone completely average, being 2-2-0 and looking a bit lost since their captain came back.

The losses came on a back-to-back, which can be understandable to lose the second leg, it was against the lowly Penguins who are ready to clean house.

It was great that Matthews got two points, same with Mitch Marner as it's clear they both succeeded offensively, but they were a combined -4, and being on the ice for four goals against as a premier star in the league is rough to say the least.

When Matthews was gone, Marner went +4 with 15 points in nine games and the team looked rejuvenated being led by the winger.

The team was better overall and everyone contributed more to an equal level as opposed to relying on Matthews.

Toronto didn't have a lot of bottom line production, as has been the case all season however they had John Tavares play like he did a decade ago, meanwhile had their defense step up in a big way and become some of the league's best.

There's no denying that Matthews can change the game on the ice, but if the team is insistent on playing him next to Marner even though it makes the team weaker is going to be a detriment now and in the playoffs.

Toronto is much deeper and more complete when they split the long-time duo, and Marner's play as of late is proving that perhaps he may be the true MVP of Toronto's success, and while Matthews provides the popular goal-scoring, Marner creates those chances at a premium rate.

If Toronto loses their next game against New Jersey, then head coach Craig Berube should take a long look at the lineup and keep both men away from each other; following through on his comments earlier where he put his faith in Marner to lead on his own.

Toronto is going to win games when Auston Matthews plays, this is fact. However, the team will also lose more games with him in tow, and need to stop relying so heavily on Matthews to lift them up.

The Maple Leafs have a wealth of talent and should start using it better.