Auston Matthews says the Maple Leafs have left Sergei Bobrovsky out to dry lately, and the captain put the blame squarely on the skaters.
“He's playing great. I think we really left him out to dry here in his last couple starts and that's on us,” Matthews said, via Jesse Blake.
“So we've got to be better. He's doing his job.”
Matthews is right, and it's refreshing to hear a star say it out loud. The goalie isn't the reason this team keeps coughing up late leads.
Blaming him for those games is like blaming the lifeguard because nobody taught the swimmers to stay in the shallow end.
Bobrovsky came into Saturday at .896 on a $7,000,000 cap hit.
The 38-year-old has just one win in five appearances.
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Auston Matthews delivers a pointed message about Sergei Bobrovsky after recent losses
In Thursday's 5-4 overtime loss to Buffalo, the Leafs opened the third period up 4-2 before Owen Power won it.
He stopped 29 of 34 shots in that one.
Before that, Toronto lost 5-4 in Utah on Tuesday.
Toronto then fell 4-1 to the Islanders on Saturday, stretching its winless run to three games.
The Leafs' defensemen came into the weekend without a goal, and Morgan Rielly sits at -5.
Darren Raddysh has 4 assists on an $8,500,000 cap hit.
Matthews leads the team with 13 points, while William Nylander has 12.
Anthony Stolarz sits at .875 as the backup.
John Tavares is now listed out until at least Oct 31, which thins the lineup even further.
The skid also came after Jim Hiller admitted he should have used Gavin McKenna more on Thursday.
Elliotte Friedman has said the Leafs would move prime assets for a difference maker on the back end.
If the skaters don't tighten up, how long before the coach starts rotating the crease anyway?
Toronto hosts San Jose on Monday before visiting Columbus on Tuesday.
The captain said it plainly: the goalie is doing his job. Now the skaters in front of him have to start doing theirs.
Is Sergei Bobrovsky being unfairly blamed for the Leafs' skid?
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