The Maple Leafs’ center missed Games 5 and 6 with an undisclosed injury.
The Maple Leafs’ center missed Games 5 and 6 with an undisclosed injury.
After being a full participant in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ morning skate on Saturday morning at TD Garden, there was a rising optimism that the team would be inserting their best player back into the lineup for a must-win Game 7 later that evening.
That optimism was met with reality as Auston Matthews was implemented back into the lineup centering the third line for a win-or-go-home Game 7 – despite not being 100 percent Saturday.
The three-time Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner as the NHL’s top goal-scorer, was previously pulled from the lineup in Game 4 with an illness and missed the previous two must-win games as well – leading many to believe that there was more to the story. Keefe was asked before Game 5 if there was an alternative injury that was interfering with Matthews’ ability to play, but the Head Coach declined to give any comment revealing the situation.
After a 2-1 overtime loss in Game 7 in Boston, Matthews was asked about his ailment throughout the series.
“Yeah, I mean, I'm not gonna get into that tonight,” Matthews told reporters. “I mean, I think the next couple days, let's kind of process this and go over it, but I'm just not gonna get into that tonight.”
Matthews had four points stretching across five games (1G, 3A), with three of his points coming in Game 2 of the series which saw the Maple Leafs win by a score of 3-2. Despite this, Matthews did not look like himself for the majority of the series, the player who scored 69 goals in 81 games this past regular season – the first NHLer to do so since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96.
Even though his effectiveness and usage heading into Game 7 were undetermined, Maple Leafs Head Coach Sheldon Keefe had his praise for his superstar who had a primary assist on the team’s only goal.
“Yeah, obviously, appreciate it. He did all he could to get himself ready and to play less than 100%,” Keefe said. “And going to the game, even unsure how it was gonna go for him, but he wanted to be there and I thought, all that considered, I thought he'd do a good job for us tonight.”
It seems that the ailment that kept the American superstar out of the Maple Leafs’ lineup will come to light in the coming days after the dust settles of yet another first-round exit in Toronto.
Matthews will likely speak to media on Monday when the club conducts its annual locker clean-out day.
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