TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without their star captain, Auston Matthews, for the upcoming matchup against their division rivals, the Boston Bruins, due to an upper-body injury.
Head coach Craig Berube indicated after the team’s morning skate that Matthews is currently classified as day-to-day. He noted that Matthews has been “fighting through” the injury but clarified that it is not connected to his previous wrist issues.

So far this season, Matthews has netted five goals and collected a total of 11 points across 13 games. In the previous game against the Minnesota Wild, he recorded an assist and logged over 22 minutes of ice time in a nail-biting 2-1 overtime defeat.

With the absence of their star player, Berube emphasized the importance of maintaining focus. “Everybody just needs to do their job out there,” he said. He added that the team should not dwell on Matthews’ absence, stating, “We’ve got a good team, got good players. People are going to get a little different look in situations, lines, things like that. They’re capable guys, good players.”

Despite Matthews’ injury, the Maple Leafs have shown resilience in the past when he was sidelined. Toronto has compiled a solid 35-19-2 record during the regular season, along with a couple of playoff victories. They faced off against Boston in a hard-fought series last May, which the Leafs ultimately lost in seven games.

The upcoming schedule for Toronto includes two home games this week: one against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday and the other versus the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

“Everybody just digs in,” Berube concluded, highlighting that different players will have the chance to showcase their skills with this opportunity.