For Leafs forward Michael Bunting, this season has no doubt been a dream come true, not only getting to suit up for his favourite NHL team growing up every night, but also riding shotgun with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner for much of the season as well and forming one of the best 1st lines in hockey.
That being said, it hasn't all been ups for Bunting. There have been some downs as well. With the 26-year-old currently riding a 16-game goal scoring drought, he's been fighting it a bit and admitted to the Toronto Sun's Terry Koshan that his current slump is weighing on him.
It's not as though Bunting hasn't been productive, recording 12 assists in his last 16 games, but much like we saw with John Tavares earlier this season, when a player hasn't scored in awhile, they can get in their own head a bit and it can lead to them gripping the stick a little too tight and trying a little too hard. Like just about everything else, it's best when it happens organically.
Bunting contributes to the team's success in other ways outside of just goals and assists, though he does have 20 goals and 37 assists to his credit this season. He's also the first guy to dust it up in a post-whistle scrum and gets his hands dirty often. He plays in the tough areas of the ice, retrieves the puck and causes chaos in front of the net, which will definitely come in handy during the postseason.
