Craig Berube Confirms Frustrating News Regarding Auston Matthews
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube has announced that Auston Matthews won't be returning this week as his injury has not progressed positively.
Matthews hasn't suited up since the 3rd of November when the Maple Leafs dropped a 2-1 decision against the Minnesota Wild, where he recorded an assist, 3 shots on goal, and skated 22:12 TOI.
Matthews has been on the sidelines, nursing an upper body injury and was placed on injured reserve retroactive to November 3rd with what was supposed to be a day-to-day issue. That was nearly 3 weeks ago.
The Maple Leafs shared earlier last week that there was no setback suffered by the captain, but a timetable for return has never been confirmed .
With Berube saying that Matthews won't be back this week and that his earliest possible return would be Sunday against the Utah Hockey Club, that would put his absence at more of a week-to-week situation.
Additionally, Berube mentioned that Matthews hasn't skated over the last couple days, which is certainly a cause for concern considering he was skating and practicing - even if only briefly - not too long ago.
-Berube on Matthews
The Maple Leafs have rallied without their captain to the tune of a 5-1-0 record with their lone blip coming against Ottawa on home ice when they dropped an egg in a 3-0 defeat. Otherwise, they've defeated 3 divisional opponents, the red-hot Washington Capitals, and the always dangerous Edmonton Oilers.
Mitch Marner will be relied upon once more with Matthews on the mend but he's done a fantastic job at steadying the ship over the last 6 games with 5-multi point efforts in the process - 4 goals and 6 assists. The Leafs will play host to the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
