The Real Reason Behind Auston Matthews' Struggles Revealed

Though, we definitely have some insight into why. Matthews has been shooting at an abysmal 8.8% at 5v5; he's not scoring a lot when things are even, and without his special teams production, his numbers could be even worse.

This is the first time in his career he's shooting under 10% at 5v5, and that's not a good sign for a team who can't stay out of the penalty box and can't solely rely on just the power play to win games.

He has definitely been given more of a defensive role this season, often being utilized on the penalty kill than in past seasons, and Craig Berube's style of play doesn't offer as many offensive chances as Sheldon Keefe's.

However, the penalty kill hasn't been great recently either, and Matthews needs to either tighten things up a bit more defensively, or figure out how to put the puck in the net again.

Calling out his team for their inconsistencies, the captain himself is guilty of his own rollercoaster season.

Yes, he missed 15 games with injuries, but he's only had two separate streaks of three games in a row or more where he's scored, and has more goalless streaks this season than ever before.

This season, Matthews has 63 points in 55 games (27G, 36A) and while those numbers are very solid even with his absences, the 27-goal output puts him on pace for his worst output in his career and only has a dozen games to get over that 30-goal plateau or risk missing that as well.

Matthews needs to lead by example and start putting the puck in the net consistently. We know he can score in bunches and just how deadly he can be.

Toronto needs him at his best, because without it? Look forward to a rough ending to a once hopeful season.