3 Toronto Maple Leafs Who Need to Turn Their Season Around – The Hockey Writers – Toronto Maple Leafs

With exactly two weeks off in between NHL games, the 4 Nations Face-Off break has given the Toronto Maple Leafs plenty of time to rest and re-focus (unless your name is Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner or William Nylander) ahead of the regular season’s final 27-game push.

Let’s face it. Some players need it. The Maple Leafs, winners of three of their last four and holding the No. 2 spot in the Atlantic Division with 68 points, are in fine shape. However, if they want to chase down the Florida Panthers for the top seed and round into playoff mode in the final third of the season, Toronto will need everyone to start playing up to their potential.

“Playing up to their potential” doesn’t mean that Ryan Reaves needs to become a 30-goal scorer or that Pontus Holmberg suddenly transforms into the third-line centre of the club’s dreams. Instead, these three Maple Leafs could help their team by overcoming a disappointing first half and getting their game in order.

Auston Matthews

Seeing Auston Matthews in this spot would have been unthinkable a year ago. Even now, 20 goals and 45 points in 40 games is nothing to scoff at, particularly for a player who has battled injury for much of the season. Even still, these were far from the numbers expected of the superstar centre.

Matthews’ mysterious ailment has been one of the biggest stories surrounding the club to date. That storyline has quieted in the past month as he’s returned to the lineup and has managed to remain healthy. It will get an awful lot louder, however, if any subsequent injury complications arise during the club’s late-season push for a division title, especially given the 27-year-old’s decision to represent Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

But even aside from concerns about another injury flare-up for Matthews, there’s still the fact that he hasn’t rounded back into his typical dominant form. After kicking off his return with nine goals in his first 10 games back, he has gone goalless over his last six contests. Sure, seven assists in his past four games is a nice surprise, but it’s hardly his bread and butter. Health has been the story of Matthews’ first half and will continue to be an area of concern, but the Maple Leafs could also use their captain scoring at a greater clip than his current one-goal-in-two-games pace.

Morgan Rielly

The Maple Leafs’ four-game…