May 1, 2025; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) skates with the puck in game six of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/bbb7af3b-9419-426c-bb95-d048fb62fa3b.jpeg] May 1, 2025; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) skates with the puck in game six of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images When the Toronto Maple Leafs filed onto the ice for their morning skate before Game 4 against the Florida Panthers, one player was missing: Auston Matthews [https://x.com/dalter/status/1921587280784900509]. Quiet the alarm bells because the Maple Leafs told some reporters [https://x.com/reporterchris/status/1921588414995992655] that the 27-year-old was taking the option and will be good to go ahead of an all-important game against Florida. David Kampf skated in Matthews' spot [https://x.com/dalter/status/1921589543213400294] on Toronto's top line with the forward missing the morning skate. Matthews is coming off a two-assist game against the Panthers on Friday night. Toronto's captain played 24:35 in the overtime loss, the second-most ice time he's played in the playoffs. This isn't the first time that Matthews has missed a skate in the playoffs. The forward was absent from Toronto's practice after their 4-3 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators in Game 4. 'We Have To Communicate Better': Maple Leafs Need Full Support To Help Joseph Woll Handle Panthers' Dump-Ins [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/63e2288c-96a0-4365-bc69-1fb8b889a00a.jpeg] 'We Have To Communicate Better': Maple Leafs Need Full Support To Help Joseph Woll Handle Panthers' Dump-Ins If there's anything the Florida Panthers did exceedingly well in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZWPFLoUAs4">their Game 3 win</a> over the Toronto Maple Leafs, it was how they put the puck into the offensive end. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/we-have-to-communicate-better-maple-leafs-need-full-team-effort-to-handle-panthers-strong-dump-ins] "I think everybody’s grinding right now. It’s that point in the season of hard, physical hockey, going through different things, so it’s nothing that’s abnormal," Matthews said on April 29, a day after missing practice [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/everybodys-grinding-right-now-auston-matthews-explains-absence-from-maple-leafs-practice-ahead-of-game-5-against-senators]. "Everybody’s grinding and playing hard right now, so it’s not really something that’s, I don’t know, it’s not a big deal." Matthews is yet to score in the second-round series against the Panthers. He's scored 10 points — two goals and eight assists — through nine games in the playoffs. His two goals came in Games 3 and 6 vs. Ottawa. 'That's How Pucks Are Going In': Morgan Rielly Has Game Full Of Bounces As Maple Leafs Fall To Panthers In Overtime [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/c9ee3728-d174-4505-b454-8143d6acee7a.jpeg] 'That's How Pucks Are Going In': Morgan Rielly Has Game Full Of Bounces As Maple Leafs Fall To Panthers In Overtime Morgan Rielly welcomed his teammates after his third-period goal, which bounced off Sergei Bobrovsky and Seth Jones before going in. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/thats-how-pucks-are-going-in-morgan-rielly-has-game-full-of-bounces-as-maple-leafs-fall-to-panthers-in-overtime] Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube discussed Matthews' lack of goalscoring in the playoffs on Saturday, saying he needs to hit the net more as he leads NHL players in missed shots [https://moneypuck.com/stats.htm] during the playoffs. "He's a great scorer, we all know that. I'm not too worried about him. It is what it is," Berube said [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiK_xWTi-68]. "Yeah, he needs to hit the net. He's trying to hit the net. He's not trying to miss the net. He's trying to hit the net. I'm not really going to elaborate on that too much." Matthews dealt with a nagging injury for most of this season. In November, he flew to Munich, Germany, to receive treatment from a doctor he's previously dealt with. Matthews missed almost the entire month before returning to Toronto's lineup on Nov. 30. 'They Have Their Killer Instinct Right Now': Did Panther's Forward Brad Marchand Troll The Maple Leafs Following Game 3 Victory? [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/d052de87-710c-4795-8997-663b6fcb72db.jpeg] 'They Have Their Killer Instinct Right Now': Did Panther's Forward Brad Marchand Troll The Maple Leafs Following Game 3 Victory? Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cYu6XwzdbI">scored the overtime winner</a> to help his team pick up a victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 5-4 win in Game 3 of their second-round playoff series. After the game, Marchand discussed the feeling of getting the win and seeing his team avoid going down 3-0 in their best-of-seven series. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/they-have-their-killer-instinct-right-now-did-panthers-forward-brad-marchand-troll-the-maple-leafs-following-game-3-victory] The forward finished the regular season with 33 goals, the lowest total of his NHL career, and 45 assists in 67 games. Twenty-eight of his 33 goals, in 54 games, came after returning in late November. He hasn't found the back of the net in his last three games, meaning he's due for a goal in Game 4, which goes down at 7:00 p.m. ET. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stay updated with the most interesting Maple Leafs stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwytvfCA?ceid=CA:en&oc=3] to never miss a story.
