Leafs superstar Auston Matthews finally reveals the details of the mysterious injury he's been playing through
After potting 60 goals last season, the expectations were sky high for Auston Matthews heading into this season. However, many noticed right off the bat that something wasn't right. Matthews was missing shots that would normally find the back of the net and, at times, was looking to pass instead of shoot as he usually would. It became apparent that Matthews was battling an injury, but no one had any idea of what it was. There was speculation that it was a rib injury, for which he missed a couple of games after receiving a cross-check from Jamie Benn early on this season, however, Matthews' unexpected errors continued after his return.
The other day, Matthews sat down with The Athletic's Jonas Siegel and revealed that he has battled a hand injury all season, something that Kyle Dubas acknowledge a few weeks ago (not specifying the nature of the injury). "I think my hand and everything has been feeling a lot better, just stronger. So yeah, I'd have to agree with you there. Just shooting it a little bit more fluidly I'd say," Matthews said in response to Siegel's question about shooting the puck harder again.
Matthews admitted that the injury had been bothering him for a long time and he felt that something was off, "I just felt like not completely... like I wasn't able to do exactly what I wanted to at times," said Matthews.
His production would appear to have fallen off a cliff so to speak, but even in an off year, he is still on pace for 40 goals. However, Matthews appears to be heating up and back on track as he has scored in 3 straight games and has 6 points over that span. He has also collected 29 shots on goal on 45 attempts over his last 5 games, significantly higher than earlier in the season.
Prior to his recent hot streak, Matthews had missed three weeks with a knee injury, which coincidentally, also allowed his hand to recover. A healthy Matthews heading into the playoffs and a rematch with Tampa is more important than having him score 60 and challenge for individual awards. Even the 25-year-old sniper himself has acknowledged that.
| POLL | ||
MARS 15 | 230 ANSWERS Leafs superstar Auston Matthews finally reveals the details of the mysterious injury he's been playing through How many goals will Auston Matthews score for the Leafs in the playoffs? | ||
| 4 or less | 36 | 15.7 % |
| 5-9 | 83 | 36.1 % |
| 10-14 | 68 | 29.6 % |
| 15 or more | 43 | 18.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
