The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without their captain, Auston Matthews, for at least two more games as he recovers from an upper-body injury, according to NHL.com on Friday.
Matthews, 27, has missed the last two games and will also sit out Friday’s game against Detroit and Saturday’s home game against Washington.
Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said Matthews “is doing better,” but did not provide further details about the injury. Another update is expected on Saturday.
Matthews last played in Toronto’s 6-3 victory at Buffalo on Friday, where he scored a goal in 19:18 of ice time, despite taking two big hits, including a cross-check from Sabres defenseman Dennis Gilbert.
This injury has kept Matthews out for 11 of the Maple Leafs’ 35 games this season. He missed nine games in November due to a separate upper-body issue. Berube mentioned that Matthews’ current injury is slightly related to the previous one.
Matthews has 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) this season, ranking fourth on the team. He led the NHL with a career-high 69 goals last season and is aiming for his sixth straight 40-goal season.
The 27-year-old has scored the most goals in the NHL (379) since being drafted by Toronto in 2016.
The Maple Leafs won seven of the nine games they played without Matthews earlier this season and have a 42-22-2 all-time record when he’s absent.
