Craig Berube Glazes Auston Matthews After Leafs' Dominant Victory Over Flames

Entering Monday night's game against the Calgary Flames, the Toronto Maple Leafs had lost 5 of their last 6 games and needed better performances from their core players, including the captain in Auston Matthews.

Social media had taken a hard stance on Matthews, the Maple Leafs, and even Craig Berube over the last few days, but after last night's performance, Matthews subdued a lot of that heat and it was certainly not lost on the coaching staff either.

After the game, Berube's comments shone a light in his belief and trust in Matthews as a leader and point producer and with 2 goals and an assist under his belt, it's hard not to agree with the fiery bench boss:

After opening the scoring just 107 seconds into the game, the Flames tied things up with just 47 seconds remaining in the first period. Things could have gone sideways, but the Leafs kept their cool and ended up scoring 4 times in the period, including 3 on the power play, with 2 of those coming from Matthews.

It was certainly a sight for sore eyes, because not only did they come out with a dominant victory, but Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner also combined for 3 goals and 8 points.

The trio had combined for just 6 goals over their last 6 games and were coming off of several lineup shuffles before Berube went back to what he believed were his most consistent trios.

Matthews has had to deal with a lot of criticism this year as he's trending towards a career-low for goals scored in a season since 2017-18, especially coming off the heels of a 69-goal campaign last year. However, he's evolving his game and becoming more of a two-way centre, which Berube believes will come in handy during the post-season.

At least for one night, we can rejoice in the former three-time Rocket Richard winner lighting the lamp in vintage form. The Maple Leafs will be hoping he can ride that momentum into their next game on Wednesday night against the Colorado Avalanche.