It's been a very special season for Leafs superstar Auston Matthews, and not just because of his incredible 51 goals in his last 50 games either. Matthews is beginning to get the recognition he deserves as quite possibly the best player in the world.
On Saturday, Matthews and his teammates skated out onto the ice at Scotiabank Arena for the morning skate to chants of "MVP! MVP! MVP!". For the 24-year-old, that moment was absolutely surreal and really resonated with him.
What's wild is that those chants came even before he had scored his 57th and 58th goals of the season on Saturday night. Following the game against the Canadiens, a 3-2 Leafs victory, Matthews was asked about the chants and how he felt hearing the fans go off for him at the morning skate. Here's what he had to say:
Matthews is a player who thrives in the spotlight. He's a big game player. We have seen on a number of occasions this season alone where his team needs a big goal, either in regulation or in overtime, and Matthews just goes out and delivers. The series against Montreal last year, in my opinion, was a bit of an outlier - you're not often going to see Matthews held off the score sheet for so many consecutive games. But it has awakened something in Matthews that we have not seen. The way he's played this season is nothing short of incredible.
The 2016 1st overall pick has been all business this season and it's showing in his game. He experienced something last season that he does not want to experience again. Marner as well. Between these two young superstars, I like the Leafs' chances of making some noise in the playoffs this year, regardless of who their first round opponent is.
