Matthews practiced on Wednesday and took part in the optional morning skate today, but he will not play tonight vs. New Jersey. Despite missing his fourth consecutive game, Matthews appears to be on track to play Saturday in Montreal.
Matthews will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury and it sounds like there is a good chance he won’t play tomorrow in Boston either. After Saturday the Maple Leafs are off until next Thursday, so it would be smart for them to get their franchise player back to 100 percent instead of rushing him.
Matthews was on the ice for the morning skate, but left after roughly seven minutes and his status for tonight’s game is in doubt. This is bad news for the Maple Leafs, who have lost five of their last six games coming into tonight. Matthews leads the Maple Leafs in goals (10) and points (18). If he is unavailable, William Nylander will shift to centre.
