Auston Matthews: ‘A lot of confidence’ going into playoffs

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The captain is happy with where things stand.

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Auston Matthews is by no means satisfied, of course, as the Maple Leafs turn their attention to the Battle of Ontario in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but the team’s top centre has few quibbles with how Toronto ended the regular season.

A 4-3 comeback overtime win against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday at Scotiabank Arena put a cap on a sound 2024-25 year for the Leafs, and Matthews recognized as much afterward.

“You go through 82 games, lots of ups, lots of downs, you try to find your footing at times,” Matthews said. “I like the way that we’ve responded when we’ve had adversity. I think it’s inevitable that throughout the season you’re going to have those moments. And I think the way that we’ve responded has been really great.

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“It has taken all 20 guys in the room some nights, other guys leading the way, goaltending, stuff like that. That’s what you need to win in big games and big moments.”

By no means did the Leafs get in their own way as the season concluded. After losing to Ottawa on March 15, Toronto won 13 of its final 16 games, including a five-game winning streak in the end.

As coach Craig Berube said in Buffalo on Tuesday after the Leafs beat the Sabres to clinch the Atlantic Division, the players bought in. Matthews expanded a bit on that on Thursday night.

“I think we’re playing much more direct,” Matthews said. “I wouldn’t say the style has changed dramatically, but I definitely think there’s certain parts of the game that we’ve keyed on and tried to be better in and have made more of an emphasis on playing more direct, physical.

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“All in all, it’s pretty positive. Earning the division (title) and putting ourselves in a good spot and having a good last couple of weeks, we just want to continue to build that momentum. A lot of guys are playing with a lot of good confidence right now, goaltending, everything. You need everything to be clicking.”

The Battle of Ontario, for the first time in the playoffs in 21 years, will start on Sunday night with Game 1 at Scotiabank Arena.

“You see clips and videos and stuff like that,” Matthews said. “The Battle of Ontario speaks for itself. It has been a long time … two very proud cities, proud franchises.

“I think we know what we’re in for. It’s going to be a tough series. It’s going to be a hard series and we have to mentally prepare for that.”

Defenceman Chris Tanev put it best post-game: “Now it’s time for us to get down business.”

The Leafs are well down that road. They’ve been locked in for a while now.

“Guys were really focused and wanted to get that division title,” Berube said. “We really played well as a team, this last little stretch. Doing the right things without the puck and everybody dialed in.”

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @koshtorontosun

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