Auston Matthews Speaks Out on Horrible Overtime Mistake That Cost Leafs the Game

Auston Matthews was the hero in a crucial moment when he scored the equalizing goal with less than 90 seconds left in the game, trailing 3-2. The play was assisted by John Tavares and Mitch Marner, who cleverly moved the puck around to put Matthews in a position to score. In the face of the reeling Bruins, this preserved Toronto's hopes.

However, in overtime Matthews' valor would not last long because David Pastrnak stopped a sloppy giveaway pass from Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews off the boards, setting up a 2-on-1 with Marchand. Marchand was stopped at the net front but backhanded in the rebound for his season's first goal.

The Leafs fought back to earn at least a point in the standings despite not playing their best hockey. They maintained their competitiveness through the effort, but it was far below their potential, which is concerning given that they were playing a Boston team that had been struggling.

In the team's two losses to the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues, Auston Matthews was responsible for a costly turnover for the second consecutive game.

After the game, Matthews, who had spent the majority of the overtime on the ice, told the media that he did make the pass without necessarily looking around the ice. Craig Berube, his head coach, defended his captain by blaming the rest of the team, claiming that it was a team breakdown and that they should have encouraged him more. However, Matthews and the Leafs, who have lost their last five games 1-3-1 to start the season, are under increasing pressure.

The Leafs are aware that they need to make a swift turnaround because they will be playing the Jets, who are undefeated, in Winnipeg next. With this game being featured on Amazon Prime, everyone will be watching to see if they can recover from this difficult stretch and get back to their previous level of play before their season becomes even more elusive.