"Lot of nothing going on": Auston Matthews makes honest admission regarding Maple Leafs power play after shutout loss to Canucks

Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs were shut out 3-0 by the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday at Scotiabank Arena. It was their second consecutive loss after a 6-3 defeat against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.

It was the third time the Leafs have been shutout this season, along with opening night against Montreal (1-0) and a home matchup with Ottawa in November (3-0). Toronto's power-play woes were a major factor in its inability to score on Saturday. The team went 0-3 on the man advantage and now ranks below league average in a tie for 19th in power-play percentage at 20.6%.

During a postgame interview, Matthews was asked about the struggling power-play unit.

"There's a lot of movement, a lot of nothing going on, I guess," Matthews said, via Leafslatest. "And I just think we can do a better job of simplifying it. More shots to the net and then letting things open up from there."

With a No. 1 unit of Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, John Tavares and Morgan Rielly, the team's power-play production was expected to be among the league's best.

Toronto finished seventh in the league at 24% in 2023-24 and second in 2022-23 at 26%.

Auston Matthews has been productive in his return from injury

After missing six straight games due to a reaggravation of a previous upper-body injury, Auston Matthews has been back in the Maple Leafs lineup for five games. He has racked up eight points (three goals, five assists) in those five outings. He appears to be back to full strength after two different stints on the injured reserve.

His strong play since returning to action has him with 31 points (14 goals, 17 assists) in 29 games played, although he only has 10 power-play points and four power-play goals on the year. Should he and the rest of Toronto's first unit start producing up to standards on the man advantage, Matthews' stats will likely continue to improve.

Matthews and the Maple Leafs will face another tough test on Tuesday as they host the red-hot Dallas Stars. The puck drops at 7 p.m. EST.