Leaning on his stick at the conclusion of practice, Auston Matthews did all the listening in a one-way, one-on-one exchange with Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock.
"Do you think I'm going to tell you?" Matthews responded abruptly when questioned afterward about what was said.While neither cared to discuss the interaction, Matthews will continue to be among the most-watched players when Toronto opens the first round of the NHL playoffs in Boston on Thursday.
"We felt it could have gone either way," Matthews continued. "To not move on, it was very frustrating. "The biggest thing is there's going to be no room, there's going to be no time, there's going to be no space," Babcock said. "The better the player you are, the less there's going to be. And so you have to understand what the playoffs are about and what it's going to take to be successful -- our whole team has to."
"The energy level, the skating, just competitiveness every night, was pretty solid going into the last couple weeks," said Matthews, who finished third on the Leafs in scoring with 37 goals and 36 assists in 68 games. "I just want to continue that take my game to another level come Thursday."
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