TORONTO – It was a popular topic of conversation as the Toronto Maple Leafs stumbled their way through the past two-plus weeks: Where would this team be without Auston Matthews?
Unfortunately, they may soon find out.
Matthews missed Tuesday’s practice with an undisclosed injury, the first time he’s sat out a full-team skate since entering the NHL. Even though he managed to play in Monday’s 4-3 shootout win over the Vegas Golden Knights after being listed as a "game-time decision," head coach Mike Babcock acknowledged that his star centre was limited.
"He wasn’t as dominant as he normally is," said Babcock. "He just didn’t have the same kind of – I don’t know – power, or whatever you want to call it. We’ll see. I think more of it’s when you first have something wrong with you, you want to know what it is first.
"The big part of that is the mental side and worry and then once you know what it is then you can get either playing through it because it’s no big deal or you can get it fixed and then get feeling better."
The Leafs aren’t offering much in the way of tangible information about his condition, but there are logical conclusions to be drawn here.
They employ an 11-person medical team and lean heavily on the advice of sports science director Jeremy Bettle. Just 10 days ago, they sat forwards James van Riemsdyk and Matt Martin against Philadelphia with minor maintenance-type injuries.
It’s hard to imagine that there isn’t at least some degree of internal conversation about giving Matthews the night off Wednesday against Minnesota. The Leafs are in the thick of a busy stretch that includes a home-and-home with Boston on Friday and Saturday.
Wouldn’t it make sense to have the most important man in the organization get some extra rest?
"It’s a great easy decision prior and then when you lose the game you don’t think that," said Babcock, referencing the Flyers loss without JVR and Martin. "But you’re trying to win more games and you’re trying to have guys healthy. We’ve got a real good medical science team – they usually tell me what we’re going to do anyway – and so right now I don’t have any information.
"We’re waiting until later today and then once we get the information we’ll know what to do."
[snippet id=3638225]
What’s interesting about the Golden Knights game is that Matthews wasn’t eased into action. He played a season-high 21:11 that included 2:11 during 3-on-3 overtime and was also called on in the shootout.
His night included a giveaway on a goal against and his first penalty of the season. But he also made a couple all-world plays, including a rush the length of the ice that saw him beat defenceman Luca Sbisa by spinning on the edge of his skate blades before setting up van Riemsdyk for a goal.
"With Auston, I think he’s got that ability where you kind of want to almost play far away from him at times and then find the good times to go support him," said van Riemsdyk. "He’s so good at 1-on-1 and so dynamic, so it’s almost like isolation in basketball. Get as many guys away from him as you can so only one guy on their team can really check him.
"Usually he does a good job of making smart plays, and obviously he made a really special play there."
Matthews spent considerable time on the training table before coming out to speak with reporters afterwards, revealing that the injury was aggravated during the four-game road trip last week.
"It’s been lingering a little bit and then kind of came back in that St. Louis game," he said. "It’s just a little bit of soreness. It was fine to play tonight, though."
Matthews last missed time with injury while playing for the Zurich Lions, when he sat out six games during the 2015-16 season because of a back issue. He’s played 98 straight games to start his NHL career and entered Tuesday night as the league’s fifth-leading scorer with 19 points.
With him absent from practice, the Leafs recalled Frederik Gauthier from the American Hockey League while sending Kasperi Kapanen back to the Marlies. They unveiled completely revamped lines during rushes:
Komarov – Kadri – Nylander
Brown – Bozak – Marner
Van Riemsdyk – Marleau – Hyman
Martin – Moore – Leivo
Extra: Gauthier
Jumbling all of the forward groups at least hints at the possibility Matthews may not be able to dress against the Wild. But Babcock didn’t exactly sound like he was committed to the new look.
"We changed our mind six times and then we even got ‘em posted, and then changed them again," he said. "I’ll probably change them again tomorrow based on Matthews’ situation and whether he’s in or not. That’ll make the difference."
The real X-factor probably comes down to Matthews himself. He noted after the game against the Golden Knights that "I think you never really feel 100 per cent" – a nod to how difficult it will be to keep him out.
While the Leafs are clearly better with a lesser version of their 20-year-old phenom, the decision about whether he should play should probably hinge on long-term thinking rather than what’s best today.
[relatedlinks]
