It has been a topsy-turvy series between the Panthers and the Maple Leafs. Although the Leafs began the series with a bang by winning the opening two games, the Panthers made a strong comeback and leveled the series by winning the next two games. Although there has been a massive shift in momentum, one thing has remained constant right throughout the series. And that is the form of Auston Matthews, the captain of the Maple Leafs, who has remained goalless in these first 4 games. Amid this, he was called out by renowned ESPN analyst Steve Levy.

Recently, Levy appeared on the Pat McAfee show after the Panthers won game 4 of the second-round playoff tie. During his appearance, Levy discussed all things NHL, including but not limited to Max Domi’s hit on Aleksander Barkov and Frederik Andersen’s availability. Naturally, among the topics of discussion on the agenda was Matthews’ poor form against the Panthers.

Talking about it, he said, “Waiting for Austin Matthews, you know, this greatest American-born goal scorer, to take over a game, let alone the series, and we’re just not seeing, you know, that from him. Now some of that is on what Florida’s doing; right, they’re really sound, all three zones defensively checking them to death when they can get the matchups. But those are two of the things I’m looking for in that series.”

Matthews has been crucial to the Maple Leafs’ campaign this season. He scored 33 goals and recorded 45 assists during the regular season. However, this form has hit a low during the series against the Panthers. He has yet to score in the four games played, although he has three assists during the same period. The Maple Leafs would hope that their captain finds form soon if they are to make a comeback in this contest.

Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs’ coach, Craig Berube, isn’t concerned about Matthews’ form. Ahead of game 5, he made a candid confession about his team’s star player.

Craig Berube sounds confident about Auston Matthews

The Maple Leafs will return to Toronto for game 5, which is set to take place tomorrow. Ahead of that crucial encounter, there was much talk about the form of Auston Matthews. Although many called out the struggling star, Berube has kept his faith in the team’s captain and made a massive prediction about him.

Ahead of Game 5, Berube revealed, “He does a lot of other things in the game that really dictate things, and, you know, does a great job with a lot of other areas of the game. He’s just got to keep focusing on that. I mean, you know he’s going to get his looks and just stick with what he’s doing, and don’t get too frustrated with anything, because it’s not just about scoring goals. He’s got a lot of other stuff he does really extremely well for us.”

Berube explained, “He’s out there killing penalties, he’s going against top lines, he’s like checking, he’s working, he’s competing, a lot of good stuff, you know, yeah, we’d like him to score, and so would he; it’s not easy. It’s not easy to score in the playoffs, you know, so I’m not overly worried about it.”

Berube knows that big players rise on big occasions, and Auston Matthews could do exactly that. As a result, he isn’t too worried about his poor form of late, and the Maple Leafs’ captain will look to find his lost mojo when they host the Panthers for game 5.