Maple Leafs’ biggest stars haven’t been good enough at 4 Nations Face-Off
For years, so much has been made about the Toronto Maple Leafs’ inability to thrive come playoff time – especially their star players.
The 4 Nations Face-Off was seen as a perfect opportunity for Canada’s Mitch Marner, USA’s Auston Matthews and Sweden’s William Nylander to show they can come up clutch in big moments. Marner made a big impression right away, scoring the game-winning overtime goal against Sweden on the opening night.
But between them, the trio only have four combined points, with Nylander leading the way despite Sweden being knocked out of the tournament. Matthews – one of the top goal-scorers from the past decade, has yet to beat a goalie in this tournament. Granted, he missed the game against Sweden with an injury, but he has been quite quiet, regardless.
On the latest edition of Daily Faceoff Live, Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli looked at the struggles from Toronto’s big three:
Tyler Yaremchuk: “Frank, three Maple Leafs in this tournament, and all three of them kind of having disappointing runs. Matthews was out with an injury. Mitch Marner had a good moment but has yet to put forth a good game for Team Canada. And William Nylander was a bit of a non-factor as well for Sweden. Which one of those three Maple Leafs is the most disappointing to you? For me, at least, Marner, you can at least point to a moment and be like, “Hey, scored in overtime. If he doesn’t score that, who knows how the tournament plays out.”
Frank Seravalli: “Matthews had a number of chances…”
Tyler Yaremchuk: “And some good defensive plays..”
Frank Seravalli: “Don’t do it. I don’t want to hear about good defensive play. That’s not why he’s getting paid. He hasn’t scored yet. But he hasn’t scored yet. And beyond that, he has had some moments, hit at least three posts. So he’s had looks, but he hasn’t dominated. And that’s the one thing you’re looking for with these guys. Connor McDavid has had stretches where he has flat-out dominated. Nathan McKinnon has had stretches where he has dominated. Cale Makar did the same thing on Monday against Finland. He has dominated.
“I haven’t seen that from Matthews. Haven’t seen that from Marner. And definitely didn’t see that from Nylander. And when you’re talking about that level of player, and you’re talking about dispelling the notion that in big moments, you’re going to rise to the very top, I don’t think anyone’s done enough to create an argument that they’re going to take something from this tournament and apply it to a Toronto Maple Leafs playoff run. However, there is one game left. It’s the most important game. You find a way in that game, maybe they totally flip the narrative.”
You can watch the full episode below: