Keefe believes in Matthews, Marner: 'They're the reason why we're here'

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe is confident Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner can make the impact expected of them in Game 4 on Wednesday.

The superstar pair have been under heavy fire since Monday's demoralizing Game 3 loss in which they were visibly outplayed and failed to find the scoresheet in a virtual must-win. The Matthews-Marner line owned 40.74% of shot attempts and a dreary 33.53% of expected goals across 13 five-on-five minutes in Florida's overtime victory, according to Natural Stat Trick, but Keefe is set to keep his top offensive weapons together.

"The production and performance of these guys that we're talking about and questioning, they're the reason why we're here, why we're even playing when there's only eight teams left," Keefe said, according to Sportsnet's Luke Fox.

Toronto is making one tweak to its top line, bumping Michael Bunting off left wing in favor of Calle Jarnkrok.

"When you get into a game like this, you look at the big samples," Keefe said. "Our team has been the best, our lines have been the best, when it's been Matthews, Marner, and Jarnkrok. That's the best line we've had all season."

Keefe's preferred triumvirate played 85 minutes together in the regular season, commanding 59.9% of expected goals and 56.39% of shot attempts. Matthews, Marner, and Jarnkrok have only played 33 minutes together in the postseason but have outscored opponents 3-0.

Matthews and Marner have combined for three assists so far against the Panthers. Along with John Tavares and William Nylander, Toronto's "Core Four" haven't scored a goal since advancing past the Tampa Bay Lightning. The drought marks the first three-game stretch where none have found twine since Tavares signed in 2018.

"We're the leaders, and we want to be the ones to step our foot forward," Marner said. "We all know we got a lot better ... and especially us."