SIMMONS SAYS: Matthews' playoff stats tiny next to regular season output
Leon Draisaitl, Nathan MacKinnon and Mark Messier share something rather incredible that seems so very far away from Auston Matthews.
All three have scored more goals per Stanley Cup playoff game than they have ever scored in their National Hockey League regular season careers.
Rarely do players, stars in particular, equal regular season numbers with playoff numbers — especially those with high end stats. But to surpass the goal numbers is simply remarkable.
In the case of Matthews, the Maple Leafs captain who has yet to find his way as a playoff goal scorer, his playoff numbers aren't anywhere close to that of his goal-scoring statistics from regular seasons.
And even in a down season for him scoring wise such as this one, his playoff numbers have still dropped considerably this time around.
Matthews has two goals in nine playoff games this Stanley Cup season, this coming after scoring just one last year against Boston and no goals the year before that in the second round against the Florida Panthers.
In his last 19 playoff games, Matthews has three goals. Seven of those games went to overtime, and the Leafs won two of them. Over an 82-game stretch, three goals in 19 games is equivalent to a 13-goal season. In Matthews' career, his seasonal scoring average is 52 goals.
Career-wise, Matthews has scored at a 32-goal pace at playoff time, down 20 goals from his usual scoring. The drop is even larger this year.
The biggest shock in this group of excellence might be the MacKinnon numbers. Never a giant goal-scorer like Matthews or Draisaitl, MacKinnon has averaged 34 goals over the course of his career, but has scored at a 47-goal pace in the post-season.
The Maple Leafs surely need a shot from their captain, especially now in this series with Florida. Sunday night — and every night after that this playoff season — will represent the biggest game of Matthews' career. Can he cash in? Odds say no.
THIS AND THAT
There is one significant difference between having Anthony Stolarz in goal instead of Joseph Woll for the Leafs. Size aside, Stolarz is an excellent puck-handler, which Woll isn't. And that plays directly into the Florida dump-and-chase forecheck game … Anyone who wondered why Leafs GM Brad Treliving did his due diligence on Mikko Rantanen at the trade deadline – asking Mitch Marner to waive his no-movement clause at the time — doesn't need to wonder any more. Rantanen is having an all-time great playoff run with the Dallas Stars … The quiet feeling in the Leafs dressing room: This is Marner's last run as a Leaf … Paul Maurice approaches playoff hockey as if it was a seven-round fight. You wear your opponent down in the early rounds, and work on what's left of them at the end. Winning the first round of the fight doesn't matter as much as surviving to the last round does. The Panthers already have gone hard at defenceman Chris Tanev and have knocked Stolarz out for possibly the entire series. They will continue … No one has turned their season around in a more impressive manner this year than the way Morgan Rielly has, which made the overtime goal scored Friday night hurt even more. The puck shot by Brad Marchand double deflected off Rielly's body, sending it into the Leafs net … Marner, like Matthews, watches his numbers drop in the playoffs. But not similarly. Marner averages 27 goals in his career, just 16 per 82 at playoff time. He averages 92 points in regular season and 77 at playoff time … What has been impressive about the Matthews, Marner and Matthew Knies line throughout the playoffs? They don't get scored on much at even strength. Just three goals against in nine games to date … William Nylander has basically the same scoring numbers, regular season or playoffs in his career. Just a touch more playoff goals and points than his regular season totals … Most explosive and erratic NHL player: Edmonton defenceman Evan Bouchard. He has been on for 14 goals at even strength and 12 goals against. That's the most in two categories in the NHL … If I was a young Canadian player and had a chance to play on a world championship team with Sidney Crosby, MacKinnon and Marc-Andre Fleury, I'd be there in about a second. Just for the experience. And I wonder, as many do, how much MacKinnon will work on Crosby and try and talk him into moving from Pittsburgh to Colorado next season … I haven't seen any real speed from Matthew Tkachuk in three games against the Leafs. He looks like he's playing hurt just as his brother did in Round 1.
HEAR AND THERE
There are many who are horrified that Joel Quenneville is back coaching in the NHL, this time with the Anaheim Ducks. You know who isn't horrified? Kyle Beach, the hockey player who was abused in the Chicago Blachhawks scandal that eventually cost Quenneville his job in Florida. More than a year ago, Beach told Quenneville he would not stand in the way of Quenneville's return to NHL coaching. Quenneville talked to Beach the other day before being announced as the new Ducks coach. If Beach is OK with Quenneville coaching, who are any of us to disagree? … The best hockey coaches I've seen up close: 1. Scotty Bowman; 2. Al Arbour; 3. Bob Johnson; 4. Quenneville. Next on that list would be Jon Cooper, still coaching in Tampa Bay. Big difference between 1 and 2 on the list, and the rest of the list … The best Leafs coaches I've been around: 1. Pat Burns; 2. Pat Quinn … For those counting at the knockdowns, 17 NHL teams have changed coaches or are about to change coaches in the past 12 or coming months … The Buffalo Sabres can't seem to do much right. They've just brought in the inexperienced Eric Staal to assist the underperforming GM Kevyn Adams. The two played together with the Carolina Hurricanes and isn't that nice? What the Sabres need is senior management person– a Lou Lamoriello-Cliff Fletcher type of years gone by — to take over the operation, show them the way, then hire a general manager, then hire an assistant … Tom Wilson has to be on Team Canada for the Olympics, doesn't he? Few players can impact a game in as many ways as Washington's Wilson can …. The difficulty for GM Doug Armstrong and coach Cooper come next winter is determining who winds up at the bottom of Canadian roster up front: You have a lot of deserving players, Wilson, Mark Scheifele, Nick Suzuki, Robert Thomas, Wyatt Johnston, Macklin Celebrini, Connor Bedard to choose from, and that's leaving off 4-Nations players Travis Konecny and Seth Jarvis, who will be in consideration. The Olympic rosters are 25 players, two more than 4-Nations rosters. They'll probably be eight or nine legitimate choices for the two last forward spots on Team Canada.
SCENE AND HEARD
If John Schneider is worried about being fired as Blue Jays manager, he isn't showing it. 'The short answer is no,' Schneider said in his weekly appearance on the Blair and Barker radio show on Friday. 'If I (was worried) I would be taking away from the players and the staff. Worrying about me is never the right thing to do, ever.' Schneider did admit 'it gets frustrating at times … Do I feel pressure? Yeah, for sure. Everybody does. To put any outside noise on your plate is not what's best for me, and not what's best for the guys.' … Firing Schneider, if that's even a consideration, would be the latest indictment of Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins' ability to put together a quality big league roster … The Blue Jays entered play Saturday with 19 wins. That's 10th-best in the 15-team American League … How weak is the American League East this season? In the last 10 games, their AL East has a combined record of 21-29. The AL Central in that time: 35-15 … According to the New York Times, the Blue Jays can't hit pitches down the middle of the plate and can't hit pitches outside the strike zone. Which combined isn't necessarily a good thing. And that reminds me of the great old Harry Neale line. We can't win at home. We can't win on the road. My failure as a coach is I haven't found another place to play … Great as he may be, it's pretty much impossible for the 33-year-old Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees to catch or pass Hank Aaron at 755 career home runs or Albert Pujols for 703 homers among right-handed hitters. Judge is 428 homers behind Aaron and 376 behind Pujols … How does GM Bill Guerin pick six defencemen to start from a group that includes Quinn Hughes, Charlie McAvoy, Jaccob Slavin, Zach Werenski, Adam Fox, Lane Hutson, Luke Hughes, Jake Sanderson, Noah Hanifin, Brock Faber, John Carlson and Cam Fowler for the U.S. Olympic team in February? … A question you couldn't have had an answer for a month ago: What do The Pope and Kyle Lowry have in common? Both graduated from Villanova … And wasn't there a Pope of Greenwich Village years ago? … It used to drive Masai Ujiri crazy that a Raptors team with Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby and Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl had all that talent and couldn't succeed in the NBA. Now you're seeing Siakam and Anunoby starring in the playoffs, and that must be driving Masai just a touch batty.
AND ANOTHER THING
Chet Lemon passed away the other day at the age of 70. What no one mentioned in the obituaries was the longtime outfielder played for the White Sox in the first Blue Jays game ever. He happened to go 0-for-4, with three strikeouts, on that frozen opening day of 1977 … Drafted into the WHL last week, Brock Lesnar's son, Duke. Wonder if he'll be a fighter like the old man … This has to excite Toronto Tempo people: Golden State played its first exhibition game in the WNBA and drew 17,428 … Paul LaPolice is the first head coach of Team Canada men's flag football team. The sport is scheduled to make its Olympic debut in 2028. There's already pressure on Team Canada to win a medal in Los Angeles. LaPolice has a 22-50 won-loss record as a CFL head coach … When he ran MLSE, Tim Leiweke told me that the easiest thing to fix was a Major League Soccer team. All you have to do is spend money the right way. Toronto FC is spending money the wrong way these days — with the second-highest payroll in MLS and just about the worst team in the league. It takes a certain skill to be this rich and this bad all at the same time … The London Knights are back in another OHL Final, and this time they've come in under the salary cap … I thought of this the other day when the story of the pranking of Shedeur Sanders came out. Years ago, back when we actually had personal phone books, my young kids somehow got hold of mine. They found Wayne Gretzky's number in the book. They giggled a lot and thought about phoning him. I think they dialed. I don't think anybody answered … The giant Mike Shaw would have turned 68 this week. He wrestled as Norman The Lunatic, Bastion Booger, (my personal favourite) Makhan Singh, Mad Monk and Klondike Mike in his career, mostly as a rather nasty piece of work … Happy birthday to Brad Marchand (37), Nancy Greene (82), Chris Berman (70), Ryan Getzlaf (40), Jerome Williams (52), Ulf Nilsson (75), Salvador Perez (35), Cam Newton (36), Alex Tuch (29), Samuel Dalembert (64), Jamison Battle (24), Adin Hill (29), Kardinal Offishall (49), Joey Loperfido (26) and Tito Santana (72) … And hey, whatever became of Jay McClement?
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CBC
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Oilers visit Panthers for Game 3 with Stanley Cup finals tied
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Vancouver Sun
2 hours ago
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Why is the NHL tilted in Florida's favour? Lightning, Panthers hold six-year run on Eastern Conference dominance
Coral Gables, Fla. — It's Sunday night, and the arena parking lot is filled with people lugging hockey bags towards the main doors. But we're not in a small town in Canada. We're in Coral Gables, Fla., where hockey leagues are very much alive and well at the Panthers IceDen. There are three games going on three sheets of ice. But one stands out — the Panthers Warriors are on the wrong end of a 10-3 drubbing, but the team is notable. Its players are all veterans or people who support American vets, and the program is supported by the NHL club. 'It's the hardest sport I've ever played in my life,' said Ryan Teems, a 32-year-old U.S. army veteran. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Three years ago, Teems didn't even know how to properly tie up skates. But, now, he's playing regularly. 'I got out of the army in 2020 and somebody took me to a hockey game,' said Teems, who spent six years in the infantry. 'I'd never been to one. I watched it and fell in love. Then I bought Panthers' season tickets. And then I was going to the bathroom at one of the games, and right above the urinal, it said, $500 to learn to play, full equipment and all that. So that's when I got into it.' That learn to play clinic was sponsored by the Panthers. In 1998, the Panthers moved to what's now known as the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla., about a 40-minute ride on the expressway from Miami, if the traffic goes your way. It is the definition of a suburban arena, close to the freeway and surrounded by thousands of parking stalls. The team relocated its training facility to nearby Coral Gables, taking what was a two-sheet community hockey facility, adding a third rink with a dressing room, and re-christening it as the Panthers IceDen. But that wasn't enough. In 2023, construction was completed on a new $65-million dedicated Panthers practice facility in Fort Lauderdale. The team and municipal officials put together a plan for an arena with two ice sheets. The adjoining War Memorial Auditorium was renovated. It's got a food court, stage, and the Panthers even held their 2024 Stanley Cup ring ceremony there. It has a team shop, and Stanley Cup parties are hosted there. Most of the players live close to the IcePlex, and many ride bikes or Vespas to practice. The team also has golf carts on standby for players if they want to zip home and back. And like the IceDen, the IcePlex is open for community hockey and skating. Panthers' general manager Bill Zito has heard the complaints. He's heard sniping from different corners of the league, that Florida teams have unfair advantages over their NHL counterparts. The 2025 Cup final between the Panthers and Oilers marks the sixth consecutive season that a Sunshine State-based team has won the Eastern Conference. The Tampa Bay Lightning took three in a row, and now it's the Panthers' turn to threepeat in the East . These two are divisional rivals to the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs, so this is what these Canadian franchises are fighting, year after year. The rub? The fact that Florida has no state income tax. But that's not all. There's no inheritance tax, nor does Florida collect taxes on personal investments in stocks, bonds, mutual funds and the like. Compare that to Quebec, where the provincial tax rate is 25.75 per cent on those making $129,590 a year or more. Or Alberta, where it is 15 per cent on taxable income over $362,961 a year. Tax is a complicated thing for professional athletes. They pay based on where they play. So, for home games, the Lightning and Panthers players pay no state tax. But, if the Panthers are in Montreal for a day to play the Canadiens, they pay Quebec tax based on one day of their salaries. Still, for the majority of the season, Florida-based players are in the state and take advantage of a tax regime that is favourable. In fact, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly admitted ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final that noise has been made to make the tax disparities an issue for the next collective bargaining agreement. The current CBA expires at the end of next season . But Daly said there is very little the league can do to mitigate tax differences. 'Certainly it's an issue that some of our franchises have raised as a concern,' said Daly. 'What I'd say at this point is that we don't share the level of concern that they have, and what I'd say on top of that is that these imbalances have existed forever. There's nothing new here.' Zito said the tax issue is 'marginal at best.' That's not to say that Zito doesn't think the Panthers have a competitive advantage, but it has to do with the spending to make the team's facilities the class of the NHL, and not to be afraid to spend on players in order to be a contender year in, year out. He said when management asked owner Vincent Viola to greenlight a new practice facility, it was done. 'And it's beautiful, and it allows us the flexibility to try to do the things that we think are necessary to try to win and to try to have an excellent organization,' said Zito. 'I think the players feed off it. They know that if the chicken isn't right, we're going to get a new chicken. And it all sort of transcends all that we do. It sounds silly, but it's true and it's real.' It has to be noted that Viola is not a stranger to the courts. In 2017, the Panthers reached a confidential settlement with Raphael Estevez, who once wore the Stanley C. Panther mascot costume. He sued for wrongful dismissal and claimed more than 1,000 hours of unpaid overtime. He claimed the job damaged his mental health. Viola and his son, Michael, are also named in class-action lawsuit launched by an iron workers' pension fund. It is alleged that the Violas were part of a scheme to buy back US$400 million out of the company they control, Virtu Financial, and steering it away from other investors. In 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission launched legal proceedings against Virtu Financial and its subsidiary, Virtu Americas. The allegations were that Virtu Americas did not adequately protect information about its customers and their trades. 'Virtu Americas' failure to safeguard this information created significant risk that its proprietary traders could misuse it or share it outside Virtu Americas,' states the SEC's complaint. The allegations of security issues with Virtu have also led to a class-action lawsuit. Virtu pleaded to dismiss that case earlier this month. In 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump nominated Viola to be his Secretary of the Army, but the Panthers' owner later pulled himself out of the running for the job. There is an area where Florida's tax advantage is having an indirect effect on the hockey culture in the state. Since the COVID-19 pandemic got more people working from home, Florida's population has boomed. It is to the United States what Alberta is to Canada, the hotspot for in-country migration. Since 2020, almost one-quarter of America's intra-state migrants are choosing Florida. U.S. census stats show Florida's population is now at about 23.4 million, that's two million more people than lived in the state in 2020. A lot of those domestic migrants are coming from hockey-loving, northern states. Teems said the combination of the Panthers' build-it-and-they-will-come mentality is bringing more people to games, and more rec hockey players to the IceDen and IcePlex. 'Hockey started getting big, and the Panthers started making the playoffs, making those runs, and it got bigger and bigger,' he said. His Panthers Warriors teammate, Keegan Brown, agrees. He learned to play hockey when he was six years old at the IceDen. He's 29, and he started playing again four years ago. 'It's really picking up,' said Brown. 'Back in the day, I feel like no one is talking about hockey. It's really blowing up down here. I like it a lot.' And the Panthers' success is what is galvanizing it all. 'I feel like a lot of people like a winning team. Obviously, the Panthers weren't always like that. It was a tough beginning for them. Going from the roots back in the day, being nobodies where you could pay $30 and sit on the glass. Now, there's no way you can do that. 'They're fighting, they're dogs, they're shooting goals, everyone likes that.' Matthew Tkachuk was the key piece in a blockbuster trade with the Calgary Flames . It was a deal reminiscent of the NBA's sign-and-trade transactions. Tkachuk signed an eight-year, US$76-million deal with Calgary, and then was sent to Florida. Tkachuk said the pull of the Panthers is that players around the league know the team has a commitment to excellence. 'We've got such great ownership in the Violas,' he said. 'We've got great GM in Bill and the coaching staff, led by Paul (Maurice), is awesome, and it's all about winning. Winning and having fun. So I think that's what creates the culture, but I was just one of the lucky ones. I got to step into it a few years ago.' Carter Verhaeghe said it was the Tkachuk trade that signalled to every player in the league that the Panthers were pulling out all stops to win. Add to that the lack of relative media scrutiny, so players feel relaxed. 'I think when you come here, everyone puts you in an opportunity to be yourself, and I think that really benefits some guys who come here,' said Verhaeghe. 'It starts with the coaching staff, they give you the opportunity to be yourself and play in the position to succeed, and that's what we built here over the last little bit. Bringing in guys like Chucky here made a big impact, and everyone buys in and just is not expected to be something they're not.' And then there's the players who want to play for Maurice, who has finally been able to unleash his high-forecheck up-tempo game, of which he's always dreamed. Defenceman Nate Schmidt played for Maurice in Winnipeg, and signed a one-year deal to join the Panthers. 'He gives you a blueprint of all he wants you to play. And he moulds that around your strength as a player and doesn't ask you to do more than what you should be doing, right? And so I think he's done a great job of helping us discover ourselves and understanding what we need to do. 'But he expects a certain level out of each guy. If you give that to him, there's no problems, right? And that's something that I find it was freeing for me.' The closing argument is maybe the most powerful when it comes to tax vs. team culture. If the tax advantage was so meaningful, how come Florida teams aren't dominating the NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball like they do the NHL? ssandor@ Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters . You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post, and 13 other Canadian news sites. The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Sam Bennett raising his game and wreaking havoc for Florida Panthers
The Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers are tied at 1-1 in the Stanley Cup Final as the series shifts to Florida for Game 3. Sunrise, Fla. — Connor McDavid goes way back with Sam Bennett. The youngsters played together on the same team in the Greater Toronto Area as kids, faced off in the Ontario Hockey League, and have been on opposite sides in the Battle of Alberta. They also went toe-to-toe in last year's Stanley Cup final, which Bennett's Florida Panthers took in seven hard-fought games over McDavid's Edmonton Oilers. The clubs are going back at it again in June 2025. McDavid is still topping the stats sheet. Bennett, meanwhile, has raised his game — and continues to wreak havoc around the opposition crease. The 28-year-old Panthers centre had 13 goals in these playoffs as the Panthers headed into Monday's Game 3 of the NHL's title series, which sat tied 1-1. But it's not just the offence. It's how Bennett is influencing the action. A gritty, physical player known for his on-the-line approach, he took Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz out with an elbow to the head that resulted in a concussion in the second round of the playoffs before making life miserable in the blue paint for the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final. The six-foot-one, 193-pound Bennett, who had three goals in this year's final entering Monday, has kept it going in a matchup with Edmonton that has seen him contact Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner a couple of times. Once it led to a goal, while the other sequence resulted in a goaltender interference penalty. 'It certainly can be difficult at times,' Bennett, who played 5 1/2 seasons with the Calgary Flames before getting traded to Florida, said of figuring out where the line is with referees. 'I've definitely been in situations where I've crossed that line. I never try to, but I try to play as close to that line as I can. It takes time and experience to figure out how to be as close to that line as possible without crossing it. 'It's not going to be perfect. Sometimes you're going to go over, but sometimes it's necessary to play as close to that line to help your team win.' Panthers defenceman Aaron Ekblad said there are certain players in the league that simply find ways to get in the way at the net. 'Just like (Oilers winger) Corey Perry, he's extremely good at getting there and being between the defenceman and a goalie,' said the blueliner. 'Those guys have a knack for it.' Bennett, who has already set a playoff record this spring with 12 road goals and is poised to become an unrestricted free agent July 1, might be the best of the bunch. Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said it's 'almost impossible' to keep opponents away from the crease. 'You just hopefully trust the referees, that they can uphold the standard on what's goaltender interference,' he said. 'What should be allowed and what shouldn't.' And when it comes to Bennett, McDavid has seen it before — from youth hockey to the NHL. 'He's always played with an edge, ever since he was a little guy,' said the Oilers superstar captain. 'He's playing well, scoring goals. Nothing we haven't seen before, so we've got to figure him out. 'He's not going anywhere. We're not going anywhere.' Helping hand McDavid wasn't quite sure how to answer the question. Asked to explain the work and process to be able to produce his highlight-reel assist in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final — an otherworldly toe-drag sequence that ended with a feed to Leon Draisaitl — the humble, soft-spoken centre struggled to find the right words for a difficult query. 'A lot goes into that,' McDavid said. 'I don't know how to answer that.' Draisaitl, usually on the receiving end of No. 97's setups, finished off his teammate's reply. 'You can't learn that,' the big German interjected, receiving laughter from reporters. 'I'll answer it for him.' Rat pack The Panthers' rally towels for Game 3 have a cheeky twist. The red-and-white laundry features a hockey-stick-carrying rat sporting a hockey helmet in honour of the plastic versions of the rodent thrown on the ice by fans after victories. There's are also subtle nods to Florida's three playoff conquests this spring — the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes — blended into the design. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2025. Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press
