Matthews missed Tuesday's game against Boston and was listed as day-to-day by the Maple Leafs.
Auston Matthews was not on the ice as the Toronto Maple Leafs practice began on Thursday.
The 27-year-old forward missed Tuesday's 4-0 win against the Boston Bruins with an upper-body injury. Toronto listed Matthews as day-to-day with the ailment, and according to TSN's Chris Johnston, he could miss this weekend's games (Friday vs. the Detroit Red Wings and Saturday vs. the Montreal Canadiens).
With Matthews out of the lineup, Max Domi moved up to first-line center, with Matthew Knies and Mitch Marner. He was in the same spot during Thursday's practice, and unless he's good to go on Friday, Domi will remain on the top line.
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said ahead of Toronto's matchup against Boston that Matthews' injury is unrelated to the wrist issues he's had over the past few seasons.
“No, nothing to do with that,” the head coach said.
Matthews has had a slow start to the season goal-scoring-wise. The forward has five goals through his first 13 games, which is down from his 13 goals in 13 games to start last year.
Toronto's captain dealt with an upper-body injury during the team's training camp in late September but returned for their season-opener in Montreal on Oct. 9.
Matthews was named captain of the Maple Leafs on Aug. 14 after the honor was passed on by John Tavares. Matthews scored 69 goals in 81 games last season, winning his third-career Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL's top goal scorer.
He's in the first year of a four-year, $53 million contract with an annual average value of $13.25 million, the highest AAV in the NHL.
In 575 games with the Maple Leafs, Matthews has 373 goals and 287 points for 660 points. He has 48 points (23 goals and 25 assists) in 55 postseason games with Toronto.