Coach Sheldon Keefe says Matthews’ pursuit of 70 goals has been a distraction, while injuries are piling up and the salary cap remains a concern.
Auston Matthews scored his 69th goal, and the Scotiabank Arena crowd buzzed every time he touched the puck thereafter.
And even though Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said Matthews’ pursuit of 70 has become somewhat of an unwelcome distraction for the team, he admitted he wanted the all-star centre to get to the historic number on Saturday night.
“Obviously that’s a major distraction that doesn’t help us with what we’re trying to accomplish on the ice,” said Keefe. “But it’s exciting, I get it. Especially when he gets to 69, you can see it, it’s growing. (Fans are) anticipating, and now you’re feeding it. I’m feeding it. I want it to happen, but I wanted it for the fans.”
Matthews scored as part of a second-period rally in what became a 5-4 overtime loss to the wild-card-hunting Red Wings.
The Leafs are trying to build good habits with the Stanley Cup playoffs a week away, but even Keefe got a little carried away by playing Matthews late in the third period. He was already on the ice when Patrick Kane high-sticked Leaf Max Domi. Matthews played the full two-minute power play, then was out for almost all of the rest of the third period — close to a four-minute shift with lengthy breaks, one TV timeout and a team timeout.
He finished with 10 shots on net, one crossbar and 23:59 of ice time.
“I’m glad the game is over” was how Keefe summed up his usage of Matthews.
Mitch Marner, Nick Robertson and John Tavares also scored for the Leafs, who are now locked into third place in the Atlantic Division.
“I do look (at the standings), but I don’t think it matters,” said defenceman Morgan Rielly, who reached 50 assists for the third time. “I think either way you’re going to play a good team. This time of year, it’s more important that we focus on ourselves and what we can do rather than look at the standings.”
William Nylander picked up an assist and sits at 97 points, three shy of his first 100-point season.
Leafs netminder Ilya Samsonov had an up-and-down game, allowing four goals in the first period but no more till Dylan Larkin’s overtime winner that kept the Wings alive in the wild-card hunt.
Injuries mount
Two Leafs didn’t finish the game: winger Bobby McMann and defenceman Jake McCabe. McMann appeared to twist a knee in the first period.
“Bobby’s got a lower-body injury — don’t know severity of it — but Jake looks like he’ll be fine,” said Keefe.
McCabe’s face swelled after taking a puck to the head. It subsided, but not until after the game.
While the Leafs know they’ll finish third in the division, their first-round opponent remains unknown. The Boston Bruins are first, but only by a single point over the Florida Panthers. The Leafs will play at Florida on Tuesday, the Panthers’ final game, and finish the regular season Wednesday in Tampa. The playoffs begin Saturday.
Keefe might want to rest his stars, but injuries and the salary cap could get in the way.
“We’ll make the decision that we think is best for the team,” said Keefe. “We’ve got guys dropping right now. We’re going to have to dress 18 skaters, so we’ve got some guys who will not be available for us. So that in itself is going to be a factor. And the salary cap is what it is; we can only have so many guys. So there are lots of things to sort out.”
Keefe didn’t get into specifics, but the Leafs don’t have enough salary-cap space to activate winger Calle Järnkrok, whose $2.1 million (U.S.) average annual value is well over the $547,499 in available room. Also, the Leafs are expected to sign college free-agent defenceman Cade Weber with the carrot of giving him a game in the NHL right away. There’s no room for him, either, with entry-level deals in the $925,000 area. They only way to create enough space is to send Robertson ($796,667) and/or Matthew Knies ($925,000) to the AHL Marlies. They are the only Leafs who don’t require waivers.
Good Sammy
It was a surprise to some that Keefe stuck with Samsonov to start the second period, but he gave his teammates a chance to come back. And they did. Robertson, who hadn’t played much in the first period, scored to start a comeback, and Matthews electrified the crowd with his 69th — MVP chants raining down as he scored on a wrist shot on the power play from 27 feet. Then Tavares tied it 4-4 heading into the third.
“It was important for Sammy,” said Keefe.
Murray the Marlie
Oft-injured goalie Matt Murray, who had been out all season after hip surgery, was assigned to the AHL Marlies on Saturday on a conditioning stint and played against Syracuse, winning 6-5 in overtime to clinch a playoff spot.
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