Matthews Out For Game 6, More Than Illness Going On Here – The Hockey Writers – Toronto Maple Leafs

As the Toronto Maple Leafs gear up for a crucial Game 6 against the Boston Bruins on Thursday night, the status of star forward Auston Matthews is now clear. He will not be playing in the elimination game, even though he was on the ice skating ahead of the team on Thursday morning.

Despite giving it a go for about 30 minutes before the rest of the team took their official practice time, it was revealed that Matthews was still not able to play. There is no official word on why, some saying this is still illness-related, but other insiders reporting that there is more going on with Matthews than is being shared. The consensus seems to be that if Matthews could go, he would be in the lineup. That he can’t means it’s something more problematic.

Prior to reports saying he was out, analysts like Emily Kaplan and Elliotte Friedman both hinted that his absence might be attributed to more than just illness. Originally, head coach Sheldon Keefe said Matthews was pulled from Game 4 due to being under the weather. It was then reported that the more Matthews exerted himself, the worse it got. But, the pieces started not to fit as insiders shared that an illness would have kept Matthews away from the team and not skating.

Friedman tweeted on April 30, “Something else at play but, being the playoffs, we probably won’t know until after they are over.” His sentiments were echoed by Kaplan who noted that there’s more going on here and that fans will likely find out whenever the Leafs season comes to an end. She believed something occurred in the final game he did play, where the sniper might have injured himself.

The Maple Leafs Will Need to Find a Way

This is clearly not good news, even if the Leafs are 2-0 without Matthews and it’s clear from Game 5 that the team can win without him. He’s their leading scorer and best player. Keefe held a full team meeting at the end of practice on Thursday, something he rarely does. He might have been letting them know of Matthews’ status and trying to keep the roster is high spirits.