Auston Matthews joined the Toronto Maple Leafs at practice on Monday morning, a sign that he may be inching closer to a return to game action.
Matthews has missed the last four games after aggravating a mysterious undisclosed injury, which has bothered him since training camp, on Dec. 20 in Buffalo. The Leafs have lost three of those four games.
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On Monday, Matthews did not take part in power-play drills and rotated into line rushes, and he left practice after 30 minutes. All of which suggests he’ll miss a fifth straight game on Tuesday, which coach Craig Berube confirmed afterward.
“He did a good job in practice today, I thought, and I think he feels pretty good,” Berube said. “So, we’ll go from there.”
Auston Matthews is a full participant in Leafs practice today.
It’s the first practice for the Leafs since Matthews was injured on Dec. 20.
— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) December 30, 2024
It’s been an injury-plagued season to this point for Matthews. He played through the injury to start the season, never quite resembling the player who dominated the NHL last season.
That led to a nine-game absence in November in a bid to get healthier, which included a trip to Germany for treatment. He returned still looking not quite like himself, far from the exceptionally high standard he set last season when he led the NHL — and broke his own Leafs single-season record — with 69 goals.
The Leafs have struggled to fill the void at centre in his absence.
Required reading
- Maple Leafs’ depth at centre (and goal) getting a fierce test
- What now for Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs?
(Photo: Claus Andersen / Getty Images)
