"That makes a lot of sense" - NHL fans speculate over Auston Matthews' injury potentially being cause by Nylander hit

By Ankit Kumar

Modified May 03, 2024 17:11 GMT

Auston Matthews missed the second straight elimination game for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoff series against the Boston Bruins. He has some illness that Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe has not clarified. Fans are missing their star forward's presence, which led to speculation.

One NHL enthusiast shared a clip on X from Toronto's third last regular season game against Detroit Red Wings, where they lost 5-4 to Red Wings. Their caption on the post read:

"This has gotta be where Auston Matthews got hurt , collided with fkn Nylander and hits the back of his head on the boards. Looking back could easily be a concussion. Meaningless fkn game and now we don’t have him for the playoffs… "

In the clip, we can see Matthews and William Nylander colliding near the goalpost post. Matthews crashed into the boards because of momentum and stayed on the ice for a couple of seconds due to pain.

NHL fans reacted to the clip, expressing their views and opinions.

"Wow. I don't remember that. That makes a lot of sense," one fan tweeted.

"I have been thinking about this play for the past few days, It could be concussion, but it could also be the shoulder he slammed into the boards, I think he had shoulder problems a couple years ago. We will find out the story in the summer, no point telling teams what to target," another fan tweeted.

"lol pointless game...while he was selfishly trying to get 70 goals," a fan tweeted,

"Technically that one wasn’t meaningless as they hadn’t locked up 3rd in the division yet. The next two against Florida and Tampa that he played definitely meaningless," another fan tweeted.

"Sucks but I think he would’ve played that game no matter what even if had already hit 70 or was no where close," a fan tweeted.

"Thats hockey. Gotta play through little things like a sore back," a fan tweeted.

Toronto equals the risk in Auston Matthews' absence, leaving Bruins' in Deja vu

The Toronto Maple Leafs, led by William Nylander's two goals and Joseph Woll's 22 saves, defeated the Boston Bruins 2-1 to force a Game 7. Morgan Rielly assisted on both goals as Toronto overcame a 3-1 series deficit.

Bruins' coach Jim Montgomery called for more from star player David Pastrnak.

“Your best players need to be your best players this time of year,” Montgomery said. “..I think (captain Brad) Marchand has done that in the series. Pasta needs to step up.”

Nylander's late second-period goal and a late-game score secured the win for Toronto.

Auston Matthews remained absent due to illness. Woll made history as the first goalie with four consecutive playoff starts in elimination games, setting up a high-stakes finale against Boston.