Devastating News for Toronto Maple Leafs Captain Auston Matthews
The Toronto Maple Leafs have yet another injury to deal with and this time it involves captain Auston Matthews again, and he is out for Saturday's game.
It's an unfortunate turn of events for the Maple Leafs as they will be without their captain again as it seems Auston Matthews has reaggravated his injury that took him out of the lineup for nearly a month.
The news was broken by NHL Insider Chris Johnston on X, adding Matthews is also questionable for Monday's game as well.
It's still unknown what the exact type of injury bothered Matthews, but since his return he hasn't looked the same dominant force as he once was and many speculated he wasn't finished completely getting over his ailment.
Could This Be A Concern For The Maple Leafs?
His absence at practice yesterday yesterday was worrisome, but ended up playing against Buffalo but clearly something was nagging at him and the team decided to pull the plug in case things get worse.
If Matthews wasn't fully over his injury, then that is a definite concern for the Maple Leafs. He hasn't been a dominant force as in previous seasons and he looks a step behind at times.
Without knowing the extent of the injury it's hard to know exactly what caused things however it seems like he may have actually aggravated the injury against Dallas.
The Athletic's Joshua Kloke believes Matthews is a step behind as well, stating that the captain has looked a lot slower and not playing the 200-foot game he's known for.
He looked like he was slower than normal last night.
I mean, the backcheck on the one goal, doesn't that get other players benched for a few shifts.
Doesn't that effort get a fourth liner stapled to the bench for the rest of the period?" - Joshua Kloke
If Toronto is going to be without Matthews, they need not to fret considering how dominant the team is when he's on the shelf. In the nine games he missed this season, the Leafs went 7-2-0 and showcased just how good their other stars are with the captain out of the picture.
This season, Matthews has 11 goals and 12 assists; a far cry from his normal offensive output.
It's unknown if the Leafs will need to place Matthews on the IR again, but all fans and his teammates can hope for is that when he finally does return; this injury saga is finally finished.
