Auston Matthews calls out Scotiabank Arena crowd for lack of energy following Reaves-Olivier fight
Wednesday night’s tilt against the Columbus Blue Jackets was one to forget if you even want to call it a tilt. It looked like the Leafs were going to bring the heat en route to their fourth-straight win early on in the game, but strong play from Blue Jackets netminder Elvis Merzlikins and a couple of soft goals from Leafs goaltender Dennis Hildeby killed their momentum pretty early on, and it didn’t take long for the game to fall apart.
In an effort to ignite the building early in the game, Leafs forward Ryan Reaves finally got his long-awaited first fight of the year against fellow heavyweight, Blue Jackets forward Mathieu Olivier. It was your classic ‘old-time hockey’ fight, with both enforcers trading blows and each landing a number of significant shots before the linesmen pulled them apart. Reaves spoke recently about the fact that this was the longest he’s ever gone in a season without a fight, and when he finally got it, the home crowd seemed to drop the ball a little bit, at least according to Auston Matthews.
The lack of energy at Scotiabank Arena, specifically in the lower bowl, has been a talking point for a number of years now, and Wednesday night’s game was the latest example. There certainly isn’t any scenario where fans will, or should, be blamed for contributing to a loss, but it’s hard to argue that if the arena was booming with applause and energy after the fight, maybe the momentum would have tipped even further in Toronto’s favour. Instead, the game stayed relatively even until Columbus opened the scoring on a shorthanded goal and never looked back.
Overall, though, the game was one of those throwaways where you just pretend that it never happened and move on to the next one. The Leafs didn’t mail it in, per se, but they had enough bad bounce. Although they didn’t make too many mistakes, the ones they did make were detrimental, which Matthews also noted.
“The mistakes we made were big ones, too soft around our net,” he told reporters following the game.
The Leafs will be back in action on Saturday night when they visit the Ottawa Senators on the road and look to get back in the win column.
Related articles
Travis Kelce Agrees with Podcast Hosts Mike Golic Jr., Who Says His Softball Win Can't Compare to Taylor Swift's Success
Whitehair's Familiarity in Getsy's System Could Earn Him Valuable Reps
Raiders Star Davante Adams Reveals Top NFL WR’s Of All-Time
Trade proposal emerges sending Martin Necas to the Canucks for four assetThe Latest
-1737638717-q80.webp "Auston Matthews calls out Scotiabank Arena crowd for lack of energy following Reaves-Olivier fight")
Auston Matthews calls out Scotiabank Arena crowd for lack of energy following Reaves-Olivier fight
Wednesday night’s tilt against the Columbus Blue Jackets was one to forget if you even want to call it a tilt. It looked like the Leafs were going to bring the heat en route to their fourth-straight win early on in the ...
-1737638482-q80.webp "OPINION: It’s Not Time to Hit the Panic Button for the Flyers")
OPINION: It’s Not Time to Hit the Panic Button for the Flyers
Plenty of Philadelphia Flyers fans are frustrated with the pace of the rebuild. It has been a long time since the Flyers have been in the Stanley Cup conversation instead of the wild-card, middle, or worse, the draft lottery. The ...
-1737638064-q80.webp "Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin drops truth bomb after 3rd shutout of season")
Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin drops truth bomb after 3rd shutout of season
Turns out, New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin is extremely good at hockey. Even with a down year, the sixth-year goalie secured his 3rd shutout of the season. He’s one away from his last season’s total of four. With a ...
Patrik Laine Almost Quit Hockey
Yesterday at the Bell Centre, the focus was put on mental health and Montreal Canadiens' sniper Patrik Laine appeared on Podcast Spitting Chicklets. Yesterday at the Bell Centre, the focus was put on mental health and Montreal Canadiens' sniper Patrik Laine ...
Canadiens: Clipping The Wings
The Montreal Canadiens started to turn their season around when they beat the Detroit Red Wings in a back to back with Samuel Montembeault in net, and tonight, they'll hope to win the third match up against the two sides. The ...
