‘Too many passengers’: Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews after Game 7 loss to Panthers

Auston Matthews wasn’t at a loss for words following the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 6-1 loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 of their second-round series.

“I thought we were ready to play. It felt like we were in a good mindset. I thought in the first 10 minutes, they came out strong. In the next 10 minutes, we controlled play,” Matthews said to reporters after the game. “But I just thought we had too many passengers throughout the rest of the game. We weren’t on the same page. They get a couple goals and momentum like that, then you’re chasing the game, it’s hard to get it back.”

Matthews, who scored one goal in the series, said the Panthers didn’t waste any time.

“In the first period, I thought they came out a little bit hungrier than us,” Matthews said. “I thought in the last half of that period, we got our game going. I don’t know, I don’t know how it really got away from us. Just not on the same page and different periods of the game.”

Matthews, who finished with three goals in 12 playoff games, was asked about playing with Mitch Marner through the years and if he thinks the pending unrestricted free agent would come back.

“He’s like a brother to me, to all of us,” Matthews said. “I think we’re a very tight-knit group. We love him to death. That’s all I’m going to say about that.”

The 27-year-old center finished the playoffs with three goals and eight assists for 11 points. During the 2024-25 regular season, Matthews – who had a 69-goal season in 2023-24 – scored 33 times this season. However, he did mss 15 games due to injury.

Matthews was asked if he was healthy during the series.

I’m not really going to address that right now,” he said. “You got out there and just try to compete and give it your all, and that’s what I was trying to do.”