TORONTO — The captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Auston Matthews, was unable to participate in the game on Saturday evening against the New York Islanders due to an unspecified injury.

Toronto’s coach Craig Berube shared that Matthews sustained a cross-check to the back during the later stages of their previous match, a 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night.

Earlier this season, Matthews had missed nine games because of an upper-body injury that required him to seek medical treatment in Germany. When pressed on whether this latest issue is connected to his prior injury, Berube indicated that it could be “a little bit of both.”

The three-time winner of the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s leading goal scorer, was absent from the morning skate in Buffalo on Friday, although he still managed to find the net against the Sabres. So far this season, Matthews has notched 11 goals and provided 12 assists across 24 games.

In Matthews’ absence, Ryan Reaves and Connor Dewar were added to the lineup for the matchup against the Islanders, with Pontus Holmberg also not playing.