“Trade Matthews” “Marner is better”: NHL fans react to Maple Leafs’ surprising record in absence of captain Auston Matthews

NHL fans are surprised by the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 3-0-0 record without their captain, Auston Matthews. NHL insider Jonas Siegel posted on social media where he noted that the Leafs have outscored opponents 11-2 during this stretch.

"The Leafs have gone 3-0-0 without Auston Matthews, outscoring teams 11-2," Siegel posted on X.

The Leafs’ first game without Matthews was a 4-0 win over the Boston Bruins, ending Boston’s nine-game regular season win streak against Toronto. With a boost of confidence, the Leafs went on to defeat the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 before beating the Montreal Canadiens 4-1.

Fans quickly reacted to Siegel’s post, with some making bold statements about the team’s success without Matthews.

"Trade Matthews,” a fan wrote.

Another noted that Mitch Marner plays better without Auston Matthews.

“Don’t care about the record, do care about how obvious it is that Marner is better than when he plays away from Matthews. He plays free and loose instead of laser focusing on one teammate the entire time,” one fan wrote.

"This tells me Marner should be driving his own line while probably at centre," a fan said.

"They’ve always done well without him in the lineup. Everyone else steps up. Still miss watching him play though. I hope Pacioretty isn’t injured too bad," another fan said.

Here are some more reactions on X:

"People gonna draw the wrong conclusions to this as they did Rielly If anything this should be how they always play with or without him lol," a fan shared.

"They weren't playing Edmonton, Florida, Carolina...." a fan wrote.

"The Leafs play better when some big stars are away. It's the same with Rielly," another fan wrote.

Leafs dominated Canadiens in Auston Matthews' absence

The Toronto Maple Leafs won 4-1 against the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday. This was their third straight game with at least two power-play goals.

Conor Timmins gave the Leafs a 1-0 lead at 14:55 in the first period. In the second period, William Nylander made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 5:39. Mitch Marner then scored a short-handed goal at 8:24 to make it 3-0.

The Canadiens scored their only goal at 9:26 when Brendan Gallagher swatted in a rebound during a power play. John Tavares sealed the win with another power-play goal to make it 4-1. Joseph Woll made 20 saves for the Leafs.