Photo credit: Maple Leafs on X

It took Auston Matthews 4 games to score his first goal of the season as captain of the Maple Leafs and appears very relieved, recently sharing his thoughts on the tally.

That elusive first goal of the season can sometimes take a few games, even if you’re a 3-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner like Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews. Still, regardless of how many goals a player scores in his career, their first of each season is always important, as it’s the one that gets the ball rolling.

For Matthews, it took him 4 games to not only record his first goal, but his first point of the season as well. Matthews was, surprisingly, held off of the score sheet against the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins before finally finding the back of the net against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday.

Following a 6-2 win over the Kings, Matthews was among those who spoke with the media at Scotiabank Arena. He admitted that he was feeling the pressure, but is now glad to know that the monkey is off of his back and he can now just settle in and play his game.
“You want to contribute every night, and it’s not going to go in every night. It’s good to see one fall and it’s a little bit of a weight lifted off your shoulders.”

Matthews scored 69 goals last season, which was the highest goal total in a single season since the Mario Lemieux era. The hope is that now that the first one is out of the way, more pucks begin to drop for the newly-minted captain.

The 2016 first overall draft pick has put a strong emphasis on his two-way play this season and is committed to playing the game the right way and not cheating for offense. This mentality is what will help propel the Leafs towards a longer playoff run if the team begins to follow his lead.