ST. LOUIS — Sheldon Keefe figured his most dangerous forward was on the cusp of creating some damage. Auston Matthews backed up his coach’s words on Saturday night against the St. Louis Blues.
With two goals, Matthews ended a five-game scoring drought, his longest of the season, as the Maple Leafs beat the defending Stanley Cup champions 5-2.
“It’s a huge relief,” Matthews said. “It gets you going a little bit, get your confidence back.
“(Playing) the defending Cup champs, it’s always tough coming into this building. We got off to a good start and Freddy (Andersen) made some big saves.”
On Friday, Keefe made it clear he was not worried about Matthews’ scarcity of scoring, considering the chances Matthews was getting.
With 18 goals in 31 games, Matthews is on pace for 48.
“It has to feel good for him,” Keefe said. “I didn’t think about (Matthews’ slump) for one second. (I had) full confidence it’s going to fall in for him. He’s too good a player for it not to.
“A lot of little things I think he has been doing really well and he gets rewarded for it.”
For the second time this season — and the second time under Keefe — the Leafs scored four goals in the first period, riding the wave of offence before 18,096 at the Enterprise Center.
The Leafs, who flew to Vancouver after the game, continue their four-game trip against the Canucks on Tuesday. They will do so in a collectively good mood after improving to 5-3 since Keefe took over from Mike Babcock.
Zach Hyman also scored two goals as the Leafs took advantage of a rare poor performance by Blues starting goaltender Jordan Binnington, who was gone after being beaten four times on 11 shots.
After losing their previous two games, the Leafs were a hungrier group than the Blues, and that went a long way in puck battles.
The Leafs have had a few stops and starts in making the adjustment to Keefe, but the victory should be a source of confidence as the trip winds through Western Canada.
“It’s big,” defenceman Morgan Rielly said. “We want to have a good trip and this is how we wanted to start it. There’s room for improvement in terms of the way we want to play, but the win is huge.”
Ahead 5-1 entering the third, the Leafs gave up a goal to David Perron at 2:02, moments after Matthews made a quick move at the other end and hit the post.
Not that the Leafs were getting panicky, but Keefe called a timeout.
“It’s a chance to stall the momentum a little bit and then also just a chance for me to reflect and talk to the team and reflect on how we had started,” Keefe said.
Keefe’s tactic worked, as the Blues didn’t score again.
GAME ON
When defenceman Travis Dermott fought Troy Brouwer in the third period, the Leafs became the last team in the NHL to have a fighting major this season. “He gave me a little whack, I wasn’t too happy about it and I got a cross check in the face shortly after, and then things escalated quickly,” Dermott said. “Just hockey. It happens.” … The Leafs scored two power-play goals (on two chances) in a game for the fourth time … Since the coaching change, the Leafs are 18-for-20 on the penalty kill. They’re more aggressive while shorthanded than they were under Babcock … Pontus Aberg had a quiet night in his Leafs debut on a line with Matthews and William Nylander. “I don’t think one game is quite enough, nor do I think it was the type of game where you really get a proper sense (of what Aberg can do),” Keefe said … The two-goal game was the sixth of Hyman’s career and his first since March 4 … Turnovers were the order for the Leafs in the first period, as the goals by Matthews and Hyman (his second of the night) had roots in Blues bobbling the puck … Binnington got a piece of Hyman’s shot on the first Toronto goal at 2:50 of the opening period. Mitch Marner’s ability to keep the puck until a play opened up was key … A Dermott giveaway started the sequence that led to the tying goal by Ivan Barbashev at 4:25 … Matthews’ first goal came on a shot between Binnington’s legs after a pass from Nylander at 6:51 … The Leafs’ third goal was Hyman’s seventh shorthanded goal of his career. Toronto had a 2-on-0 after taking the puck from Perron in the neutral zone, with Pierre Engvall feeding Hyman … Jason Spezza ended Binnington’s night at 12:57 when he fired a slapshot from the point past the shaky Blues goalie for a power-play marker. It was the first time in his 56 NHL games that Binnington was pulled … The Leafs’ fifth goal was at 9:29 of the second on a power play, when the puck bounced to Matthews, who popped it past Jake Allen … Hyman was back on the left side with John Tavares and Marner. Count on him staying there. And count on Rielly and Tyson Barrie staying together as a pair as well … The Leafs also had four goals in the first period on Nov. 23 in Colorado against the Avalanche.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
