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Auston Matthews injury: Craig Berube speaks out on "lingering" issue affecting $53M Leafs star
Auston Matthews, the star center for the Toronto Maple Leafs, has an upper-body injury. He is day-to-day and will miss the game against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.
After Tuesday's morning skate, Leafs coach Craig Berube talked about how Matthews has been dealing with the injury.
“He’s been fighting through it a little bit, so obviously he’s out tonight,” Berube said, via NHL.com. “[It has been lingering] a little bit.”
Matthews, who signed a four-year $53M contract last year, has five goals and six assists in 13 games this season. He had one assist and three shots in the 2-1 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.
Max Domi will fill in for Matthews on the top line with Matthew Knies and Mitch Marner. John Tavares will also step up on the power-play unit with Morgan Rielly, Marner, Knies and William Nylander. The Maple Leafs are third in the Atlantic Division with a record of 6-5-2. They have a good record when Matthews is out, standing at 35-19-2.
Here's what the Leafs' lines will look like against Boston without Auston Matthews:
- Knies -- Domi -- Marner
- Pacioretty -- Tavares -- Nylander
- McMann -- Holmberg -- Robertson
- Lorentz -- Kampf -- Reaves
Berube wants other players to rise to the challenge,
"Everybody needs to elevate their game tonight, not just because Auston is out of the lineup but because we are playing the Bruins," Berube said.
The team needs to stay focused, especially against a strong opponent like the Bruins.
Toronto Maple Leafs' struggles and Auston Matthews missing opportunities to score
The Toronto Maple Leafs are having a tough time with their power play. They are ranked 31st in the NHL, scoring only four goals on 40 chances (10%). During the Core Four era from 2018 to 2024, they had a 24% success rate. Since last spring's playoffs against the Bruins, they are 5-for-61 on the power play.
Craig Berube has made changes, including using Oliver Ekman-Larsson instead of Morgan Rielly as the power-play quarterback. Matthews, Nylander and Tavares have scored the team's power-play goals.
Toronto is generating scoring chances but is trying fewer one-timers this season. Auston Matthews, who scored nine one-timer goals last season, has not scored on seven attempts this year.
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