Matthews skates for approximately 15 minutes, but the club gave no indication on if their start player would return to the Maple Leafs lineup.
Matthews skates for approximately 15 minutes, but the club gave no indication on if their start player would return to the Maple Leafs lineup.
BOSTON — Auston Matthews took part in the Toronto Maple Leafs' full morning skate ahead of their Game 7 series-deciding matchup against the Boston Bruins, but the status of the star player's availability remains unclear
The player skated for 15 minutes on the ice with the group after he skated for 10 minutes during his last skating session ahead of Game 5.
"That's progress, but no determination on his status tonight," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said of his status.
Matthews missed Toronto's last two games of their first-round series with the Bruins with something suspected to be more than just an illness that took the star out of the lineup during the second intermission of the club's 3-1 Game 4 loss.
The Leafs were careful not to reveal any hints about Matthews' status for Game 7. The club did not do any line rushes while all forwards wore the same white jersey, instead of typically splitting between blue and white based on top and bottom-line forwards.
Keefe was particularly careful about Matthews when asked if he'd be a full participant in the game if he could play.
"I mean, those are hypotheticals at this point, so, you know, we'll see what the day brings," Keefe said. "We've got we've got all of our forwards that have been playing in the series, you know, preparing to play. And, you know, that includes Reavo (Ryan Reaves), (Noah) Gregor. And we've got some decisions to make with some other guys.
"With Auston, if he's available, you're going to use him. But as of right now, we're proceeding as we've been."
The Maple Leafs have been able to rattle off consecutive 2-1 victories against the Bruins without Matthews in the lineup to stave off elimination twice before forcing Game 7 at TD Garden.
Matthews was instrumental in helping the Leafs win Game 2 of the series by scoring the game-winning goal and adding two assists.
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Matthews set a new franchise record this past season, scoring 69 goals in 81 regular season games.
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