Injury Concern For Auston Matthews, Will Miss Game Against Jets

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe has shared news that superstar Auston Matthews won’t play Thursday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets. The star forward left practice early and Matthews is “day to day” as far as his injury situation goes.

Matthews left the ice before the morning skate and while Leafs Nation is fairly confident this won’t dramatically hurt the team’s chances of winning in the short term — remember the three-game series against the Edmonton Oilers where the Leafs dominated and without Matthews for, 2-of-3 — there is some worry that his injury issues may plague him as the season winds down and into the playoffs. For whatever reason, talk of whatever is ailing him won’t seem to go away.

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Leafs Fans Trying to Stay Upbeat

Leafs fans are trying to stay positive and thinking this is just the team resting him because they are firmly in a playoff position and there’s no good reason to push the matter. That could very well be what’s happening here as there’s no risk the Leafs won’t be playing as part of the 2020-21 postseason.

Keefe said, “We’re not expecting this to be something that will hold him out for long.” When asked if it was a recurring issue with his wrist, Keefe said it was “similar, but not the same, no.”

In other Maple Leafs news, William Nylander is awaiting one more negative test before he can rejoin the team.

In 40 games this season, Matthews has 32 goals and 53 points. He’s on an incredible goal-scoring run, even with a bum wrist and he leads the NHL standings in goals scored, with six more than his next-closest competitor, Mikko Rantanen.

Next: Jack Eichel Scheduled for Season-Ending Surgery