The Toronto Maple Leafs are about to find out in short order what their lineup will look like without star forward Auston Matthews in it. On Wednesday, the Maple Leafs announced that Matthews will not play in their game against Minnesota thanks to being day-to-day with an upper body injury.
Auston Matthews will miss his 1st career NHL game due to an upper-body injury
The Maple Leafs star had played 98 consecutive games since starting his NHL career last year.
Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images
It’s strange to see the Maple Leafs ice a lineup without their franchise player in it. In fact, the injury will now keep Matthews out of his first career NHL game, as the 20-year-old played a full 82-game season last year plus all of Toronto’s previous 16 games this season.
While it’s safe to say some parts of Toronto may not be handling this news well, the injury sustained by Matthews isn’t a cause for concern. All reports out of Toronto say Matthews is dealing with “soreness” and nothing more worrying than that. Considering Matthews has played in every NHL game since the start of his career and that Wednesday night’s matchup with the Wild is an out-of-conference affair, it’s probably for the best in the long-term that Matthews sits.
The removal of Matthews does, however, make the Maple Leafs a weaker team going into Wednesday night’s game. Matthews leads the team in goals (10) and points (19) in 16 games this season, so the Maple Leafs will no doubt be fighting a harder battle against Minnesota.
There’s also the question of lineups, as Matthews has been Toronto’s No. 1 center since his arrival. Some speculation has Nazem Kadri sliding into Matthews’ spot, while others believe head coach Mike Babcock might put William Nylander back into his original position at center. The first-line center spot may even be fluid throughout the game, as Toronto could mix and match their talented forwards to see what sticks.
In any case, the Maple Leafs can likely hold down the fort for one game without their best player. The timing of Matthews’ injury, however, couldn’t be worse. The Maple Leafs have won just three of their last nine games after starting the season with a 6-1 record. While one game will be tolerable in the long run, the Maple Leafs will likely need Matthews back in short order to get out of their slump.
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