Matthews took to the ice on Wednesday afternoon, shortly before media arrived for the team's scheduled availability.
Matthews took to the ice on Wednesday afternoon, shortly before media arrived for the team's scheduled availability.
The Maple Leafs practice rink was empty when media arrived at the facility on Wednesday afternoon but left on the ice were marks of someone who had been skating.
Auston Matthews hasn't appeared in game action for Toronto since Game 4 in Scotiabank Arena, where he left the game after two periods. Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said on Saturday night that it was the team doctors who pulled him due to the illness he was going through.
The 26-year-old remained questionable for Game 5 in Boston on Tuesday night but took to the ice earlier that morning for about five minutes before leaving ahead of the Maple Leafs' optional morning skate.
According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, there's more than just the illness that Matthews is dealing with at the moment, and we won't know what that could be until their playoffs conclude.
On Wednesday, though, ahead of the team's media availability, Matthews took to the ice. For how long remains to be seen, and when Keefe was asked about an update on the Maple Leafs forward, he elected to be brief.
"He skated today. No update otherwise."
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cba-lEbqhi4[/embed]
It's not known whether Matthews will be available for Game 6 on Thursday. I'm sure he, and Toronto's medical staff, are doing everything possible to try to get him ready for game action. Keefe confirmed exactly that ahead of Game 5 in Boston.
With Matthews out of the lineup, though, the Maple Leafs managed to play one of their best games of the series, defeating the Bruins in overtime 2-1. They've had success all season long when key players are out of the lineup, and if that's the case again on Thursday, Toronto knows what they have to do.
"Other players gotta step up, right? Nothing else we can do about it," Simon Benoit said on Wednesday.
"If he's not in the lineup, we just gotta figure out how to win."
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