The Maple Leafs played the third period of Saturday's loss to the Bruins without their best player, and it remains to be seen if he will suit up Tuesday night in Boston.
An illness forced Auston Matthews to miss the end of Toronto's 3-1 Game 4 loss to Boston at Scotiabank Arena. Speaking with the media Sunday, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe revealed the star center's illness is "not run-of-the-mill" and symptoms have worsened whenever Matthews "asserts himself" on the ice, per NHL.com
Matthews did not practice with the team Monday, one day before the Maple Leafs will try to keep their season alive at TD Garden. After the training session, Keefe revealed Matthews will travel with the team to Boston and Toronto is "hopeful" the 26-year-old will be able to play in Game 5, per ESPN's Kristen Shilton. However, Keefe didn't definitively state Matthews' status for the Maple Leafs' do-or-die tilt against the Bruins.
Even if Matthews was fully healthy, Toronto would roll into TD Garden on Tuesday with no momentum and few reasons for optimism. The Maple Leafs dropped a pair of games at home after impressing in Game 2 on the road, and frustration appeared to boil over for the team's best players in the second of those defeats.
Story continues below advertisement
NESN will carry complete coverage of Bruins-Maple Leafs Game 5 beginning at 6 p.m. ET.
Featured image via Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY Sports Images
