TORONTO – Auston Matthews returned to the ice at Scotiabank Arena Thursday morning.
That wasn't the case when his Maple Leafs faced elimination again about 10 hours later.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe said the star sniper was on duty in Game 6, which Toronto lost 3-2 in the first round of its playoff series against the Boston Bruins, after Toronto's 11 a.m. skate in which Matthews did not participate. He announced that he would not be able to participate.
The 26-year-old missed Game 4 with an illness and missed Tuesday's 2-1 overtime road win at TD Garden that kept the Leafs' hopes alive.
Keefe was asked before Game 5 if there was anything else bothering Matthews, an injury, but he declined to answer directly.
The workhorse center, who led the NHL in scoring with 69 regular-season points for the league's first time in nearly 30 years, skated at the team's practice facility Wednesday and also for about 30 minutes Thursday before Toronto's group of players took to the ice. I skated.
It seemed like progress was being made, but the team's best player once again stared the Leafs, who were without star winger William Nylander, on the brink for the first three games of a best-of-seven matchup.
“That's the nature of the game, the nature of the sport,” Leafs captain John Tavares said of responding to the absence. “We play together as a group and everyone has to step up and try harder.
“There is no man willing to fill his position.”
Game 7 would be played in Boston on Saturday if necessary. The series winner will face the rested Florida Panthers in the second round after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 in the other Atlantic Division matchup.
Matthews, a three-time Maurice (Rockett) Richard Trophy winner and the NHL's leading scorer, hit a monster 3-pointer in Game 2 to help bring Toronto back up to 1-1 in the series. , he didn't look like himself in the game two nights later. He was battling illness and lost 4-2.
Matthews then missed Friday's practice for what the team initially called “maintenance.” He took to the ice Saturday morning ahead of Game 4 and looked to try out the game, but lost the game 3-1 in the second half of a disappointing 3-1 upset that left Toronto with no room for error. He was removed from the game by doctors during the second break. series.
The Leafs won 2-1 in overtime on Tuesday, improving to 2-0 for the 2023-24 season without Matthews, following a 7-0 regular-season win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in mid-December. Improved.
“It just shows the strength of the group and the importance of the group,” Keefe said. “Instead of delegating work to others, you do your part and trust that in the end the group will find a way to win.”
Leafs rookie winger Nick Robertson said there is a “despair aspect” to not having Matthews in the lineup.
“We realized we didn't have a scorer close to 70 goals,” he said. “We have to find a way to produce good things and play well.”
Toronto leads the series 3-1 and is 1-16 overall, but Boston blew the same lead last season against Florida in the first round.
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said the Leafs showed what they can do without Matthews in Game 5.
“He's a great player, the best goal scorer in the league since he's been here,” Montgomery said of the 2016 No. 1 draft pick. “He's a great player, but they played great without him.”
Matthews became the first NHL player since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96 to score 69 goals, but he was just one short of becoming the ninth player in history to score 70 goals.
“All of our players stepped up, played different roles and made the most of their opportunities,” said rookie forward Matthew Knies, who scored the winning OT goal in Game 5. “There are a lot of players in this room who can step up when their name is called.”
Tavares, who had to sit out most of the 2021 postseason after suffering a head and neck injury early in Game 1, said it's difficult not being able to compete with his teammates.
“It's about working all year long, from the offseason through training camp, to get a spot in the playoffs to compete for the Stanley Cup,” he said. “That’s what drives you, especially when you travel throughout the year, you get a chance to go out there and help the team.
“It is not easy.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 2, 2024.
