'No way I was missing this': Auston Matthews seeks dream finish in ...

BOSTON — The irony was so rich, it should’ve been smothered in a raspberry glaze and topped with shaved dark chocolate.

Toronto at Boston, April 22, 2024: As a sudsy playoff crowd roots against the men wearing Maple Leafs, an organic group decision is made. Let’s make this hockey game not about city-versus-city but country-versus-country.

A chant arises, proud and fierce, from the Bostonians who love their Bald Eagle as much as their Spoked B: “U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!”

Against this patriotic din, a streaking Auston Matthews — an American Maple Leaf on his chest and a kick in his step — snatches a puckout of midair, drops it on his blade, and dekes Linus Ullmark out of the series.

The face of U.S. hockey, starring for the most popular team in Canada, silencing thousands of U-S-A!s with a highlight game-winner and a three-point performance on enemy territory.

That was the last time Matthews won a hockey game in this noisy barn, which has otherwise doubled as a house of horrors for the man.

To think: The Maple Leafs/Team USA captain is only 27 years old, and he’s already lost three Game 7s in Boston (2018, 2019 and 2024). That’s a lot of hung heads, hushed post-game quotes, and Dropkick Murphys.

To dream: Late Thursday night, Matthews could be the first — and only — captain to be awarded the 4 Nations Cup, which will later go into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Guaranteed, one Leaf (Matthews or Canada’s Mitch Marner) will be hoisting a gleaming championship prize on a sheet resurfaced by yesterday’s tears.

“It’d be great,” Matthews said. “I think you kinda put all that stuff aside coming into this tournament, this situation. What’s in the past is in the past. There’s nothing that you can change. But, obviously, we’ve had a lot of battles in this building.

“It’s going to be nice to be on the other side of that and get the home support. The atmosphere is going to be great.

“I mean, these are the games that you dream of.”

Matthews’ nightmare would be not getting the chance to even rewrite the can’t-win-the-big-one narrative.

The 69-goal scorer, you’ll recall, got sick and injured in that ’24 series, and he’s been battling a suspected back injury since this season’s training camp, missing 15 games as a result.

Matthews sat out Monday’s loss here to Sweden due to a “new” upper-body injury (one source suggests neck, but that is unconfirmed). Matthews himself vaguely describes the injury as “a weird thing.”

Four days off between Canada tilts has served him well. Team USA’s medical staff is working in conjunction with the Leafs’.

“Feeling a lot better. A lot better,” Matthews explained. “Woke up Monday and just a lot of discomfort. Skating didn’t feel very good, and so just made a decision with the staff to hold me out for that game and just focus on feeling better. So, definitely been making a lot of progress.

“I mean, there’s no way that I was missing this game. I’ll be ready to go.”

The whole continent is fired up for this one.

But don’t bet on the home captain to stand up in the middle of the Bruins’ dressing room and deliver some rousing “Do it for the Stars and Stripes!” pre-game rally.

He’ll say more with a glance than a sentence.

“He’s a quiet leader,” U.S. coach Mike Sullivan said. “He carries himself in a very confident way. I think the best way he leads is through his example. He’s inspiring in the way he plays on the ice. He competes extremely hard. He’s got a great 200-foot game, and that is his best form of leadership.

“Our group is surrounded with leaders of all different sorts. We have some that are rah-rah guys and vocal and want to drag us into the fight. And then there are some, like Auston, that bring a certain demeanour to the rink every day.”

In his orbit, you would never guess that Matthews is riding an eight-game goal drought or that his goals-per-game (0.5) has dipped to its lowest rate since he scored 40 in 82 as a rookie (2016-17).

His head is high. His decision-making is swift. And his defensive commitment never wavers.

“Always one of the harder workers in the room,” said Vincent Trocheck, who first got to know “A-Matts” (Trocheck’s nickname for him) when they skated for Team North America at the 2016 World Cup.

“A tremendous talent, but just a very good person off the ice. Leads by example. Pays very close attention to detail. And he's a good guy, as a teammate, to look up to and to try to model your professionalism.”

Despite being on the losing end three too many times in this cursed sports town, Matthews is quick to credit the arena as “one of the best in the league … this building gets rocking.”

Thursday night, the quiet leader will aim to crank the volume of those U-S-A!s.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity to play in a winner-take-all game. Obviously, been in a couple Game 7s. But being in this situation, Canada-U.S., this is definitely at the top of the list,” Matthews said.

“It’s gonna be a physical, passionate match. So, I don't know what the crystal ball has got in store, but for us, we got to be ready to go from the start.

“It is a Game 7.”