Columnist image

SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

| Archive

TSN Toronto reporter Mark Masters checks in daily with news and notes on the Maple Leafs. The team practised at Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Thursday ahead of their game against the Blue Jackets on Friday night. 

After Auston Matthews hurt his left shoulder on Oct. 27, the Maple Leafs announced their star centre was expected to miss at least four weeks. We now know the layoff will be a little longer as Matthews remained in a red (no contact) sweater at Thursday's practice. 

“Just taking my time making sure everything comes back alright," the 21-year-old said after the workout. "I’m feeling pretty good out there right now and still have a ways to go. Want to get back into full practice without that red jersey and take some bumps, give some bumps and see how it feels."

But Toronto is in the midst of a busy part of its schedule and the team won’t be practising again until Tuesday. So, Matthews will almost certainly sit out at least three more games: Friday in Columbus, Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers and Monday against the Boston Bruins. Sunday is a scheduled day off. 

It appears the earliest Matthews could return is Wednesday when Toronto hosts the San Jose Sharks. But even that may be optimistic. 

"You know what guys, he's not ready," Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said when pressed on a return date for Matthews. "So, there's no timeline here yet and we'll just keep on keeping on. There's no sense rushing him back. When he gets back he’s got to be in shape, ready physically and obviously mentally so when it's time he'll play."

----

Zach Hyman missed Thursday’s practice, but Babcock said it was just for maintenance and the gritty left winger will be good to go against the Blue Jackets. Hyman’s absence did open the door for Matthews to get a little more work in. 

"We gave Hyman a day (off) and so Auston was on a line the whole time instead of being an extra piece," Babcock noted. "There’s nothing worse than being an extra piece."

Matthews looked good during a fun three-on-three shinny competition at the end of the practice snapping in a few goals, including the one that clinched his group the mini-tournament. 

"I think everybody saw the red jersey and gave me some time and space out there so I got lucky," he said with a chuckle, "but it’s just fun to be back out there with the team and kind of compete in some of those drills."

When he suffered separated his right shoulder last season, Matthews returned after a four-week layoff. But this latest injury is to his left shoulder, the one the southpaw uses to generate power for his potent shot. So how’s the shot coming along? 

"It feels fine," he noted. "I mean, it’s still a work in progress, just getting all your strength back. I feel like accuracy has been a little bit of an issue for me. Shooting on Freddie (Andersen) and (Garret Sparks) they don’t give me much space, but I think it will come back. It did last year. It just takes some time."

One area where Matthews doesn’t expect much trouble is conditioning. He’s been going through rigorous skating drills at the end of each practice to stay as close to game shape as possible. 

"Yeah, I think conditioning is there," he said after the latest session. "I mean, I hate doing that stuff, but obviously it's what you got to do to stay in shape, to get your legs back and your lungs, so I’ve been really pushing it from that standpoint. When you're not in a team setting for quite a while you feel a little lost, a little out of rhythm, but I thought it picked up there at the end today."

----

Asked to assess the state of the 15-7-0 Leafs at the American Thanksgiving benchmark, Babcock was predictably upbeat and sounding confident his group was about to get a lot stronger. 

"Obviously ecstatic," he said. "Any way you look at it, we’ve got off to a good start. We think our team is going to get better. We have significant pieces not here and they will be here and so we’ll be a deeper team."

Matthews has missed the last 11 games. The other key piece missing is restricted free agent William Nylander who must sign by Dec. 1 to be eligible to play in the NHL this season. 

In Nylander's absence a couple players have stepped up, but none more than Kasperi Kapanen who has racked up nine goals and seven assists since being promoted to a top-six role for the first time in his NHL career.   

"We've been allowed to grow players and create depth in our organization, which is important," Babcock said. "I think the more depth you can have, the more chance you can have to have success long-term, playoff time, but also when the tougher parts of the schedule (come) when you’re playing a lot of games in a short period of time."

Kapanen is averaging 16:04 of ice time per game this season. Last year, he averaged 11:15 in his 38 NHL games. 

"Once you get a little more ice time and you've got more opportunities and you get the chance to shoot the puck a little more (you feel better)," Kapanen said when asked what’s behind his confident start. "I guess just the ice time, to be honest. Or maybe it’s just been clicking for me this year. I don't know. I think since Game 1 I’ve been performing pretty well and I feel like I can be a lot better still. I just have to keep going."

---- 

Toronto’s power play is 3-for-21 in the last eight games, with all three goals coming in a 5-1 win over the woeful Kings last Tuesday in Los Angeles. 

"We’re getting our looks," insisted centre Nazem Kadri, who scored two of the man-advantage markers in Los Angeles. "It's just a matter of getting in a rhythm. The other night (Monday against Columbus) there were no power-play opportunities in the game and (that) throws the rhythm off a little bit. I feel like we’re getting some good looks it’s just a matter of timing."

The Leafs went 0-for-2 on the power play in Carolina, generating just one shot. 

"The puck just seemed like it was bouncing on us," John Tavares explained. "We weren't able to really just finish off some of those plays and connect. We didn’t have a power play last game and sometimes that takes you out of the rhythm a little bit. We just didn’t capitalize on some of our chances."

----

Lines at Thursday’s practice: 

Forwards
Matthews-Tavares-Marner
Marleau-Kadri-Kapanen 
Johnsson-Lindholm-Brown
Ennis-Gauthier-Leivo 

Defencemen
Rielly-Hainsey 
Gardiner-Zaitsev 
Dermott-Ozhiganov 
Marincin-Holl

Goaltenders
Andersen
Sparks