Auston Matthews called out himself and his Toronto Maple Leafs teammates after Tuesday's loss to the rival Boston Bruins.
"It's just not good enough," he said postgame. "We need to be better and I think it comes from the leadership group. I need to be better. All of us need to be better. We just need to look each other in the eye and hold each other accountable."
The Maple Leafs are 5-4-2 to start the season and have dropped three of their last four games. Matthews shed more light on his comments Thursday.
"We're a family here, but sometimes you gotta yell at your family," he told TSN's Kristen Shilton. "(Communication) is something that we can do a better job of and I think it's something that we are doing a better job of."
Sloppy defensive play and undisciplined hockey have held the Leafs back. They're tied for the most goals against in the league entering Thursday and have the fourth-most giveaways. They've also taken the fifth-most penalties - including 10 in the last two games - after being the NHL's most disciplined squad a year ago.
"You don't want to lose; I hate losing," Matthews said. "So you're frustrated, but it's still early. We've still got new guys and we're still trying to mesh. ... But when we look around at the guys that we have, I think we expect more out of each other. So that's just holding one another accountable, putting the past in the past, and putting our best foot forward."
This summer, Toronto experienced as much turnover as any club in the league. Nine players have already made their Leafs debut this season. Two key skaters - Zach Hyman and Travis Dermott - have yet to play after undergoing offseason surgeries, and captain John Tavares has missed last three games with a broken finger.
Matthews, who leads the team with eight goals in 11 games, has been counted on to play bigger minutes with Tavares out. He admits he needs to do a better job without the puck.
"Just defensively (I can be better) and all areas," he said. "I have to put the puck in the back of the net, create on offense, but it starts in the D-zone and I think that's an area that we've been trying to work on lately, especially today (at practice), so I've got to be better."
The Leafs are back in action Friday against the San Jose Sharks and Saturday versus the Montreal Canadiens.
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