As the Toronto Maple Leafs get ready to take on the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night in Toronto, news surfaced that the team would be without their captain, Auston Matthews, for at least one game. The Maple Leafs have announced that the 27-year-old is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury, but wouldn’t give any specifics of how or when the injury happened.
Maple Leafs F Auston Matthews is not available for tonight’s game and is day-to-day (upper body).
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) November 5, 2024
So far this season, the Maple Leafs have had a ton of inconsistencies in their overall play which has led to a 6-5-2 record through their first 13 games and third in the Atlantic Division. It’ll be the first time this season that Matthews will miss time which will surely cause a shake-up to the Maple Leafs’ top six.
While his offensive production and overall 200-foot game will be missed by the Maple Leafs, the team does have a record of 35-19-2 since 2016-17 with Matthews out of the lineup — maybe the silver lining of him being ruled out.
Matthews is coming off his third Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy after scoring 69 goals last season, but hasn’t seen the same kind of pace this season so far. In 13 games, he has just five goals and is on pace for just over 30 goals this season. That would be the lowest total of his career.
The time out against the Bruins in late October, Matthews had a three-point night, including a goal and two assists.
While it hasn’t been determined yet how long he will be out exactly, the Maple Leafs’ next appearance comes on Nov. 8 against the Detroit Red Wings in Toronto — giving the captain three full days to recover from this nagging injury.
