Auston Matthews and Toronto Maple Leafs facing familiar NHL playoff struggles once experienced by Alex Ovechkin and Washington Capitals

Pressure has been mounting on Auston Matthews and Toronto Maple Leafs as the NHL enters some of the most critical moments of the season. Toronto has managed to repeat this failure despite having one of the most talented cores in the league; it has failed to convert its success during the regular season into significant postseason performances.

The Maple Leafs are a reliable playoff team over the last few seasons, but have not been able to go deep in the Stanley Cup. With the team embarking on another questionable campaign, observers are drawing more and more parallels between the course of the Toronto franchise and the first years of the Alex Ovechkin era with the Washington Capitals.

Auston Matthews and Toronto Maple Leafs' NHL playoff struggles explained

Auston Matthews is one of the most elite goal scorers in the National Hockey League, having grown to be one since joining the league in the 2016-17 season. Matthews, who is surrounded by star forwards Mitch Marner and William Nylander, along with defenseman Morgan Rielly, is the main player of the attack of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

That team assisted Toronto in becoming a frequent participant in the playoffs. Nevertheless, the Maple Leafs have not been that successful in penetrating deep into the postseason, even with their offensive firepower. The number of exits being opened too early has also brought out concerns about whether the current roster can bring a Stanley Cup championship.

This plot development was used previously in the career of Alex Ovechkin with the Washington Capitals. Ovechkin made the Capitals into contenders very fast after making his debut in the NHL in 2005. Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin are some of the talented team members that Washington has surrounded.

Despite such a talented roster, the Capitals failed to make the Stanley Cup Finals over and over again, usually losing before the conference finals. They took over ten years of those struggles to balance out the franchise.

Washington finally managed to break through in the 2017-18 season, and Alex Ovechkin helped the team to win the inaugural Stanley Cup championship. Although the Auston Matthews and the existing core are still in pursuit of postseason glory, the NHL has indicated that patience, roster transformations and experience can ultimately turn a promising team into a champion.