The Toronto Maple Leafs are facing a challenging start to their 2025-26 campaign, with a string of losses threatening to derail early season hopes. Yet, in the midst of mounting pressure and growing concern among fans, superstar Auston Matthews has stepped forward with a message that’s left many surprised. Following a tough defeat to the Buffalo Sabres—their third consecutive loss—Matthews didn’t show a hint of panic, instead offering a perspective that’s both unexpected and intriguing.

As the Leafs struggle to find their footing, dropping games to Seattle, New Jersey, and Buffalo, the team’s resilience is being put to the test. Injuries to key players have only added to the uncertainty, fueling speculation about how Toronto will respond. But in the post-game locker room, Matthews seemed unfazed, confidently outlining why he believes the Leafs are actually moving in the right direction despite recent setbacks.

What did Matthews say that’s got everyone talking? Are the Leafs truly on the verge of turning things around, or is this just wishful thinking from their captain? And with the return of Joseph Woll and ongoing concerns about William Nylander’s health, could a breakthrough be just around the corner? The answers may surprise you—read on for the full story.

Photo credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

Auston Matthews showed no signs of panic after the Maple Leafs’ third consecutive loss, sharing a surprising message after dropping a 5-3 decision to the Sabres.

The Leafs are beginning the 2025-26 season in a bit of a slump, there’s no question about it. Having now dropped 3 straight games to Seattle, New Jersey and Buffalo, the team needs to get back into the win column, and they’ll be motivated to do that tonight against the Sabres in the second half of their back-to-back set.

Matthews Not Sweating the Small Stuff

Despite suffering their 3rd consecutive loss on Friday, Auston Matthews does not think the Leafs are all that far off from where they need to be to win hockey games. His comments during the players’ post-game media availabilities confirmed as much.

“I thought we really played a hard game tonight. I thought we did a lot of really good things. I thought we were rolling 4 lines, just competing at higher level, the level that we need to compete to win games consistently.”

Leafs Dominate Sabres Everywhere But the Scoresheet

The Leafs were the more aggressive team, outhitting the Sabres 30-8 in the contest, winning nearly 60% of the faceoffs, and outshooting their Atlantic Division counterparts 25-18 through the final 40 minutes of play. When looking at these stats, Matthews’ story appears to check out.

The Leafs’ captain really put a strong emphasis on continuing to compete, suggesting that if the Leafs play like they did last night moving forward, more often than not, they’re going to be on the winning side of the equation.

“When you work and compete, like we did for most of this game tonight, good things are going to happen. You’re going to get out of these skids and you’re going to win hockey games. So, if you clean up the little mistakes that cost you pucks in the back of your net and play the way and compete the way that we did tonight, I think that we’ll be happy with the result most of the time.”

Auston Matthews and the Leafs Trending in the Right Direction

Matthews scored his team-leading 5th goal of the season last night, and while he’s still only 4th among all Leafs in points this season, things certainly seem to be trending in the right direction.

The toughest part to handle for the Leafs during this skid has been the injuries. They have already lost Chris Tanev and Morgan Rielly to injury, and last night, William Nylander went down with an injury as well and was unable to return to the game. We should have an update on his status today.

The good news is that Joseph Woll has returned to Toronto after a lengthy leave of absence to deal with an urgent family issue, so once he gets back up to speed, perhaps his season debut will act as a sort of a catalyst and help the team rebound in a big way as the season progresses.