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TSN Toronto Reporter Mark Masters reports on the Maple Leafs, who practised at Ford Performance Centre on Tuesday ahead of Thursday’s game against the Senators in Ottawa.

Auston Matthews snapped his stick at the bench on Saturday night after failing to convert on a scoring chance against the Flames. It was a rare outward sign of negative emotion from a pretty cool customer. Toronto's top-line centre finished a pair of weekend games against Calgary without a point. He now has one assist in the last four games.​

"You go through stretches like that and just try not to get too frustrated," Matthews said. "Just continue to compete and do other things that help the team win. When the puck's not going in the net, it's important to find other ways to be effective and, for me, I'm just going to keep shooting."

Matthews fired three shots on net Friday and three on Saturday, which is down only slightly from his season average of 4.1 shots per game. 

"When we have a guy like Auston, who has shown he can score as frequently as he can, we tend to focus on whether it goes in the net," said coach Sheldon Keefe. "I, generally, focus more on how he is playing throughout the game. He has had a number of scoring chances that just haven't gone in for him. He has hit a lot of posts and missed great opportunities. Over time, things like that are going to go in for a guy like him."

Matthews scored 18 goals in his first 18 games of the season and is now tied for the league lead at 21 with Connor McDavid. 

Does Matthews feel close to breaking out again? 

"I mean, I'd like to hope so," the 23-year-old said with a smile. "So, I’m just going to stick with it."

The lack of finish of late may be the result of a nagging wrist injury, which forced Matthews to miss a couple games. Since returning to the lineup on March 3, Matthews has three goals in nine games with all the goals coming from in tight. Matthews hasn't scored from distance since Feb. 20 when he ripped a pair past Carey Price in Montreal. 

With Toronto going through the slowest part of its schedule, Matthews got two full days off the ice last week and again this week.  

"The better that he feels in terms of his health and his energy levels only increases the opportunity for him to get more of those chances to go in," Keefe pointed out. 

"It's been positive," Matthews said. "These breaks and the rest has been really good. These games are going to be important down the stretch and I want to be as good as possible. I just continue to trend in the right direction."

At Tuesday's practice, Matthews seemed determined to regain his scoring touch. On multiple occasions he skated to the bench to adjust the tape on his stick. He also switched sticks a couple of times going back to his original full-blade tape job. 

The hope is a trip to Ottawa this week will help Matthews' mojo. After all, he famously scored four goals in his National Hockey League debut in that building and hasn't really stopped scoring against the Senators since then with 19 goals in 21 games overall. 

"For a lot of us, Ottawa is a special place to play just because a lot of us played in our first game there," Matthews said. "They got a really young, exciting team. They tend to give us their best game every time we play. We definitely have to be ready. You can’t take them lightly." 

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Matthews and Mitch Marner had a new linemate on Saturday as Wayne Simmonds got bumped up to Toronto's top line. And Simmonds, who just returned from a six-week injury absence, remained in that spot at Tuesday's practice.  

"He did well," noted Keefe. "I thought they had good energy. Obviously, it is going to take a little bit just to develop the reads and chemistry that you need to have with the line. That is why I wanted to stay with it and give it more opportunities."

Matthews and Marner previously played mostly with either Joe Thornton or Zach Hyman this season. 

"It's easy," Matthews said of the fit with Simmonds. "I mean, it’s similar to a guy like Hyman. You know he's going to work really hard every shift. He's got good hands not just in and around the net, but all over the ice. He plays a really physical game. He's easy to play with."

Keefe also liked how the other lines worked on Saturday night as Hyman slotted in with Pierre Engvall and Ilya Mikheyev while Thornton played with Alex Kerfoot and Jason Spezza. Those trios also remained together at practice. 

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The one line that remained intact from Friday to Saturday was John Tavares between newcomer Alex Galchenyuk and William Nylander. 

"It's hard to judge on two games, but I'm progressing really well," said Galchenyuk. "Game 1, there's so much excitement and I was really fired up, and Game 2 I stuck with it and it was nice to get some plays in and get the win. That was huge for us."

Galchenyuk was acquired in a trade with Carolina on Feb. 15 and played six games in the American Hockey League before getting this chance in Toronto's top six. 

"His attitude and his energy have been probably the most impressive things," said Keefe. "He has lots of life. He loves being on the ice and being around the guys. He loves competing."

Galchenyuk picked up an assist on Saturday and was noticeable on the forecheck. 

"He has been probably as good of a forechecker as we've had in these two games he's played," said Keefe. "When you look at a player with a high degree of skill who has had success in the league and you think about what they are going to need to climb their way back and to restart their career, if you will, energy and passion and competitiveness are the things that come to mind. If you don't have those things, and you are just going to rely upon your skill, it is going to be a tough road back."

Galchenyuk, who has bounced between Montreal, Arizona, Pittsburgh, Minnesota and Ottawa since the 2017-18 season, is grateful for the opportunity to re-establish himself. 

"Since Day 1, I got here and they were straightforward and wanted to really work on my game," he said. "It was just great to see an organization like this appreciate me as a player and see what I can add and what I can do. It's been great so far. I love it."

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Galchenyuk really appreciated how Nylander helped him get comfortable in Toronto. The pair actually ran into each other a few weeks ago before Galchenyuk got called up. 

"I was getting some fresh air and I see a guy wearing a pink hat and I knew right away it was Willy," Galchenyuk said with a smile. "I came up to him and was like, 'What’s going on?' We just talked about hockey. We talked about the city. We talked about what's been going on in the past and now. We spoke for an hour or so. It was great meeting him. Great to know him. He actually texted me when I got traded, too, so a great guy. He made me more comfortable." 

Nylander and Galchenyuk stayed on the ice after practice on Tuesday talking shop. Nylander seemed to be showing his new teammate certain plays and nuances of the Leafs system. 

"The stuff he does in the games, you can tell why, because he does it in practice," said Galchenyuk. "Extremely skilled. Skates really well. Sees the ice well. You know, the turn backs, the way he makes moves with the puck is tremendous." 

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With Simmonds back in the fold, the Leafs hope to get their once potent power play back on track. Toronto has converted on just one of 17 chances over the last eight games. There have been a lot of good looks that haven't fallen including a Matthews shot that was stopped by a diving Jacob Markstrom on Friday night. 

"We have had enough chances," said Keefe. "We just referenced some of the opportunities Auston has had. Normally, those would go in for him. You'd feel a little bit better about the results for sure, but I think our process can certainly be better."

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During this dry spell, which dates back to a loss in Vancouver on March 4, only the Columbus Blue Jackets and Buffalo Sabres have been worse on the man advantage. 

"There are really four main elements to a power play: your faceoffs, your breakout structure, your entry and ability to get set up, and then how you play in the zone," Keefe explained. "I don't think we have had any game where all four have really been going here of late. It has been one night where we are really strong on the faceoffs and have more time in the zone, but then we are not in sync in terms of attacking the net. In other games, we might have that going, but our breakout is an issue and we are not getting in. We just haven't been in sync in those four areas that really help a power play have a good process."

During Tuesday's practice, both units spent some time with assistant coach Manny Malhotra​, who oversees the power play, working on in-zone movements. 

"We are hoping some time to get some practice will help," Keefe said. "Frankly, playing against a team like Calgary wasn't a great thing for us. That is a really strong penalty kill and one that has had a lot of success against us. That didn't help us get into sync, but certainly, we have to do better in that area."

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The Senators and Leafs have split six games this season. The North Division's basement dwellers seem to revel in spoiling the party for their provincial rivals. 

"They got our number, somehow, this year," said defenceman Travis Dermott. "It's a good battle for us. They match up pretty well against us. They seem to figure out little holes in our game and really attack those lapses. We want to play against them as much as we can. We don't want to play against the teams that we feel we play well against. We want to play the teams where we really haven't figured out our game against them or a certain system that they play. It's playing against guys that push us out of our comfort zone and make us better by the time the important games come." 

Toronto lost 4-3 on March 20 in their last trip to the nation's capital. 

"We've been up, for sure, for them," Senators coach D.J. Smith said before the last game between the teams. "It's not that we match up well, but we've found a way to be very competitive in the games against them."

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Lines at Tuesday's practice: 

Simmonds - Matthews - Marner 

Galchenyuk - Tavares - Nylander 

Mikheyev - Engvall - Hyman 

Thornton - Kerfoot - Spezza 

Sabourin, Barabanov 

 

Rielly - Brodie 

Muzzin - Holl 

Dermott - Bogosian 

Rubins - Hollowell 

 

Campbell 

Hutchinson 

Scott 

 

Power-play units at Tuesday's practice: 

Rielly 

Matthews - Thornton - Marner 

Simmonds 

 

Brodie 

Nylander - Tavares - Spezza 

Hyman