We’ll be abundantly clear: the onus is on Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner to score more goals for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Matthews’ lack of scoring has been discussed ad nauseam, we’ve held these discussions as well, and though he’s excelling in all facets of the game elsewhere, expected goals need to turn into actual goals if the Maple Leafs are to defeat the defending champion Florida Panthers. Marner played well for the majority of the first-round against the Ottawa Senators, but disappeared in the Leafs’ losses to the Panthers in Game 3-4. It’s clear that Matthews and Marner need to score a few critical goals, given their stature with the team, the quality of their opponent and what lies ahead this summer. They’ll also need some help from their friends.

Toronto’s lack of depth scoring has been its most consistent issue throughout the season and it remains a problem during the second round of the playoffs. There have been other aspects of the Leafs’ game that have fluctuated throughout the year, from the power play starting ice-cold, emerging into one of the NHL’s best units during the second half of the year, to the quality of goaltending, to the team’s rush defence. And though there have been several additions to augment the Core Four, there are still five forwards regularly in the lineup that haven’t scored a goal during the first 10 playoff games of this summer. Matthews and Marner have to lead the way, William Nylander has been outstanding, John Tavares has met his expectations, while Matthew Knies has emerged into a genuine star and Core member. This doesn’t excuse a complete lack of offence from Bobby McMann, Pontus Holmberg, Scott Laughton, Steven Lorentz and Calle Jarnkrok.

During the regular season, Matthews, Marner, Tavares, Nylander, and Knies accounted for 64.1 percent of the team’s goal scored. This figure jumps up to 71 percent when you include Bobby McMann’s 20 regular season games. McMann may be the biggest culprit in the playoffs as he’s registered a single assist in 10 games thus far. He’s a streaky scorer with elite speed and I’ve firmly argued for his permanent inclusion in the lineup. There are times where McMann has looked like he should be a constant fixture among the top-six. He simply hasn’t found his offence throughout the playoffs, nor has he used his pace to great effect during the playoffs, there have been many shifts where he isn’t noticeable on the ice. The 28-year-old wasn’t healthy for last year’s postseason and this summer presented an opportunity for McMann to make a further imprint with the club. He’s more than due.

Laughton has been responsible defensively and came up with a massive shot block in Game 6 of the Leafs’ first-round victory over the Ottawa Senators. He plays key penalty kill minutes and the acquisition cost is moot: you take a veteran player with plus-defence every time for a first-round pick that won’t graduate to the NHL until Matthews and Marner are firmly in their 30s, at minimum. Although Laughton wasn’t added with the idea that he’d be lighting up the net every night, there is an expectation that he can generate more than two assists, even if he’s playing in a fourth line role, averaging just under 14 minutes per night.

Holmberg was the team’s best player at drawing penalties during the regular season, and he provides plus-defensive impact as well, but the puck also regularly dies on his stick in the offensive zone. The 26-year-old was initially afforded second line-minutes to begin the playoffs alongside Nylander and Tavares, before being placed in a third line role when Max Pacioretty emerged as a constant force midway through the first round. Holmberg isn’t a scorer by any means, with seven goals in 68 regular season games, but if he’s not producing offence, at what point does Nick Robertson or David Kampf become reasonable options?

The same could be said for Calle Jarnkrok, who hasn’t looked like the same player that he was before injury, upon returning to the lineup in March. Jarnkrok leads the Leafs with six drawn penalties in 10 games at 5-on-5, so if he can get the power play back on the ice, perhaps that alone justifies his role in the lineup. It hasn’t been good enough from the Leafs’ bottom-six overall.

Lorentz plays with speed, physicality and has been intentional in trying to drive offence for his teammates, but it has resulted in just one assist thus far. He’s not coming out of the lineup anytime soon and this is exactly the role he played with the Panthers last season, but perhaps now is the time for him to come up with a timely goal, as the Leafs need all the help they can get.

This series is now a best-of-three, and it may very well be determined by Matthews and Marner’s response, with an impetus to outscore their competition and will the Maple Leafs to victory. They will get the headlines no matter what, unless Nylander continues his torrid offensive run, but it’s incumbent upon the Leafs’ depth forwards to step up as well, to lessen the workload of their foundational players who are entering the most pressure-packed game of their careers.