The latest on the status of Auston Matthews heading into Wednesday's game against the Oilers
On Monday, Leafs Nation held their collective breath when superstar center Auston Matthews had tested positive for COVID-19. Their concerns were alleviated on Tuesday after the announcement had come out that Matthews was not yet ruled out for Wednesday's game against the Edmonton Oilers after his follow-up PCR test came back as negative.
Even with the negative PCR test results on Tuesday, Matthews was held out of practice on Tuesday for precautionary reasons and to be tested further to ensure the accuracy of the second test. On Wednesday, Matthews was back on the ice at practice, indicating that his third test also came back negative.
This is wonderful news for the Leafs, who are absolutely rolling right now, boasting a 21-8-2 record and coming off of three straight wins, looking to extend their streak to four against the struggling Oilers, who have lost ten of their last twelve coming into Wednesday.
In addition to Matthews looking favourable to be in the lineup for the Leafs, the Oilers are likely to be without the services of their best player, Connor McDavid, after the phenom tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday.
Matthews is red hot this season and in pursuit of his second consecutive Rocket Richard Trophy. In 28 games with the Buds this season, Matthews has racked up 20 goals and 33 points. He now sits 5 goals behind Leon Draisaitl for the league lead in goals, albeit with 2 games in hand for the Arizona product.
