Leafs star Auston Matthews poised for playoff breakout for on home-ice
TORONTO — Count Capitals centre Evgeny Kuznetsov as a fan of Auston Matthews.
“I love the way he plays,” Kuznetsov says of the Maple Leafs’ talented 19-year-old. “It’s nice to see when young guys, they come in the league and they play right away the way it should be played.”
Matthews saw plenty of Kuznetsov during Games 1 and 2 of their first-round playoff series in Washington and was largely contained — held pointless with five shots. But there are signs the American, who set franchise rookie records for goals and points during the regular season, is poised to break out as the series shifts back to Toronto for Games 3 and 4.
After a quiet, one-shot playoff debut, Matthews got going in the second half of Game 2 on Saturday. Finding speed and space more often, he finished with four shots on 10 attempts. His line, which also includes fellow rookies William Nylander and Zach Hyman, was arguably the Leafs’ most dangerous in the 4-3 double-overtime win.