Matthews leaves the Leafs’ practice early.
After making a brief appearance at Maple Leafs practice on Thursday, Auston Matthews abruptly left the session before it started, raising questions about his availability for Friday’s game against Edmonton. More from Kristen Shilton, a TSN Maple Leafs reporter.
Toronto: After making a brief appearance at Maple Leafs practice on Thursday, Auston Matthews abruptly left the session before it started, raising questions about his availability for Friday’s matchup against Edmonton.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters on a Zoom call after practice on Thursday, “He just wasn’t feeling that great today coming off [Wednesday’s 3-1 loss to the Oilers].”
He will therefore spend the remainder of the day here today. We’ll check on him tomorrow and provide an update in the morning.
In Wednesday’s loss, Matthews was the Leafs’ best player, scoring the lone goal for the team and leading all skaters in shots in 24:14 of ice time.
Before leaving the field on Thursday, Matthews did not exhibit any visible symptoms of an injury, save for chatting with trainer Paul Ayotte while on the bench before practice.
Following Toronto’s recent announcement of the probable absence of veteran forward Joe Thornton for an indefinite period of time, comes news of Matthews’ probable absence.
Josh Archibald smashed Thornton into the boards early in Wednesday’s third frame, and the player ran off, clutching his left wrist.
Thornton’s problem is not a “day-to-day thing,” and Keefe reaffirmed on Thursday that he will “certainly miss some time.” However, he added that additional details will be available from scheduled testing later in the week.
Moreover, forward Nick Robertson will be sidelined for approximately a month by the Leafs while he recovers from a leg injury sustained on January 16.
Keefe rearranged the Leafs’ lineup throughout practice to make up for the missing bodies in preparation for Friday’s rematch with Edmonton.
With Mitch Marner and Adam Brooks (who replaced Matthews), Jimmy Vesey moved up to Thornton’s spot on Toronto’s top line.
Zach Hyman moved to the wing with John Tavares and William Nylander, while Wayne Simmonds slotted into the third line with Alex Kerfoot and Ilya Mikheyev.
With Jason Spezza and Alex Barabanov occupying the fourth line, it appears that winger Pierre Engvall will be making his debut in the starting lineup this season.
We’ll watch to see how everything works out. Many things are happening,” Keefe remarked. “The decision is influenced by a number of factors, including the salary cap, our players’ health and well-being, and other factors. We’ll see how things work out tomorrow.
However, we need a backup player to go with Matthews and Marner in Vesey, as it is expected that they will drive their line. We can utilize our depth throughout the lineup thanks to it. Hyman can give JT and Will an extra push.
Simmonds and Vesey were two of the many off-season additions Toronto made in an effort to increase its depth. After just one week of the regular season, which was abbreviated due to the pandemic, the Leafs may evaluate the extent of their effectiveness in incorporating diverse players into their lineup.
“I believe your depth is going to be tested this year more than any other, but thankfully for us, we have a ton of guys who can move up and down the lineup and fill holes,” Hyman stated. Therefore, I believe that this is a great chance for the boys to take advantage of it and play to the best of their abilities. This is the time of year when you need everyone.
It will be harder to recover from some losses than others, though. With an average of 15:26 of ice time per game between his role with Matthews and Marner and his appearances on the team’s top power-play unit, Thornton has been a key component of the Leafs offense from the start.
Other veterans, such as Simmonds, will inevitably be given more responsibility, but Thornton is the only one who can really offer some intangibles.
“He is incredible. His charm is contagious,” Kerfoot remarked. “He always has a smile on his face when he arrives at the rink, and being around him makes you want to be there and give it your all.” He is merely a guy who attracts guys to himself. Having said that, I think playing with Simmonds will be fantastic.
We can take advantage of his bulk to get close to him and utilize our speed to slightly loosen things up. He makes clever small plays with the puck and is easy to read off of. Tomorrow is going to be a lot of fun.
The Leafs agreed that, regardless of the starting lineup for Friday’s game, they will need to strike a greater balance between strong defense and potent offense if they are to win.
Following the dismal conclusion on Wednesday, Matthews blamed his side for playing “too safe” and putting more of an emphasis on controlling Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid than on carrying out a strategy.
It was a respectable enough feat to keep those elite Oilers to a goal and an assist between them, but it didn’t produce the outcome the Leafs needed.
Thankfully, they don’t have to wait very long to attempt making amends.
“I believe it’s necessary to strike a balance,” Hyman stated. “I don’t think we can attack, play well in the offensive zone, get pucks to the net, and do other things we’re capable of just because we’re defending well.” We don’t have to have one without the other; we just need to strike the right balance. We can have them both.
