Ottawa @ Toronto preview
Scotiabank Arena
Last Meeting ( Dec 7, 2023 ) Toronto 4, Ottawa 3
The Ottawa Senators are the last team to hold Auston Matthews without a goal and will try to do it again with a different outcome when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.
The hot-scoring Matthews had one shot on goal and no points Dec. 7 at Ottawa but the Maple Leafs still earned a 4-3 victory.
Matthews has scored in a career-best seven consecutive games since, for a total of 12 goals. In a 4-1 road victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, Matthews had two goals and an assist.
Over his past nine games, Matthews has 14 goals to raise his league-leading total to 28 on the season.
During his scoring streak, Matthews did not play in a 7-0 home win over the Pittsburgh Penguins Dec. 16 because of illness.
"I'm just trying to attack and shoot the puck and utilize my shot, try to get into open space and just staying focused," Matthews said.
Said Maple Leafs forward Sheldon Keefe: "When you get confidence, all of a sudden it feels like you can score every shift. Now he feels like he can score every time he touches the puck. It's fun to watch."
With 28 goals in 30 games, Matthews is the first player with more than 27 goals through his first 30 games of a season since Jaromir Jagr had 30 goals in 30 games during the 1996-97 season.
"I just think he's being himself," Toronto captain John Tavares said. "He's in one of those zones. When he gets on these hot streaks, it's impressive. Such a catalyst for us, and one of the best players in the world."
The Senators are coming off a 5-4 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday as they delivered for new coach Jacques Martin.
Martin took over as the club's interim coach Dec.18 from D.J. Smith.
The win over the Penguins ended a six-game losing streak.
Martin, who coached Ottawa from 1996-2004, rejoined the team as an advisor last month. He was 341-235-20 in his first stint with the team.
"I came to help the coaches and it was unfortunate because I enjoyed working with them, but things change and here I am," Martin said. "We have a really good organization. It's just one win but it's a building block and we've got to keep going."
Martin is trying to instill confidence in a team that is having difficulty holding leads. The Penguins tied the game late on Saturday, but Senators forward Tim Stutzle scored 1:10 into overtime.
"I think we're making some progress," Martin said. "It felt to me like watching our first few games that we were coming out, having a really good first period and then we couldn't handle success or we had a fear towards success. It's something I talked to the team about.
"Yes, you want to bring some corrections and technically you want to make some modifications, but you're not going to have success unless you bring the right mindset. The mental aspect of this is crucial. I just kind of feel like they lost their mojo and we need to bring that confidence back."
Martin feels he has a good core to work with.
"We have some skill and some talent," he said. "It's about rounding out their games. We have to make sure they still play with their strengths but at the same time they develop their game management. It's about them playing a style of game that's conducive to them."
--Field Level Media