Mar 19, 2018
Matthews still not ready to return to Leafs’ lineup
Auston Matthews hasn't played a game since Feb. 22, when he hurt his shoulder in a collision against the New York Islanders. Matthews has been skating throughout the injury absence, and hopes were high he’d be able to return to the lineup on Tuesday in Tampa. That's not expected to be the case now, though.
TORONTO – Suffice it to say, the last four weeks have been excruciatingly long for Auston Matthews.
The Maple Leafs’ top centre hasn't played a game since Feb. 22, when he hurt his shoulder in a collision against the New York Islanders. But Matthews has been skating throughout the injury absence, and hopes were high he’d be able to return to the lineup on Tuesday in Tampa.
That's not expected to be the case now, though. Even with a full practice on Monday under his belt, the first Matthews has participated in since the injury without wearing a red non-contact sweater, Mike Babcock said the sophomore is not yet ready to come back, pushing Matthews’ consecutive games missed into the double-digits.
“It’s just been a process,” said Matthews after practice. “I felt good [today]. Just taking more bumps and [doing] stick battles and all that stuff. It feels better and it’s definitely progressing.”
Following Saturday’s win over the Montreal Canadiens, Babcock had said he thought Matthews and injured goaltender Frederik Andersen would be ready to come back “right away,” but during Monday’s practice Matthews was still on the outside looking in. He took line rushes on Nazem Kadri’s wing as an extra skater, and sat out power-play drills while Josh Leivo slotted into his spot on the Leafs’ second unit.
This is the third time Matthews has been forced to miss time due to an injury this season. A back injury cost Matthews four games in November, while a concussion stole six more games in December. Tuesday will mark 10 games (and counting) for him watching from the sidelines. Rehabbing has become an all-too-familiar chore, and Matthews said other than the length, his recovery process hasn’t been all that different this time around.
“[I have to] be feeling good, feeling confident,” he said of the final hurdle to a return. “I’m just trying to get back and play hockey.”
As far as Toronto’s other injured bodies, only Andersen seems to have any chance of getting back in on Tuesday. Babcock said he didn’t know if Andersen would play, but was clear Matthews, Leo Komarov (lower body) and Nikita Zaitsev (flu) were definitely not ready.
Still, the Leafs returned Garret Sparks to the AHL Toronto Marlies on Monday, who had been recalled on an emergency basis this week; that would indicate Andersen will at least be backing up against the Lightning.
Monday was the first practice for the Leafs’ starting goaltender since he pulled himself from Wednesday’s game against Dallas in the second period with an upper-body injury. Andersen confirmed it was a first-period collision in his net with Roman Polak and Alex Radulov that threw him off. He tried to keep playing, but ultimately felt it was best to address the issue right away.
“You never really know [how bad it is], but the fact I tried to see how it felt was a good [sign],” said Andersen. “But we figured out I wasn’t feeling as well [as I should] and we wanted to be sure we weren’t rushing anything.”
Backup Curtis McElhinney took over from there and filled Andersen’s shoes in a big way – McElhinney has backstopped the Leafs to three straight wins since relieving Andersen, and on Monday afternoon was named the NHL’s third star of the week for his efforts in the last five days (3-0-0, 1.57 goals-against average, .955 save percentage).
With 10 regular-season games remaining and Toronto sitting pretty with a comfortable 15-point lead over the Florida Panthers in the Atlantic Division third spot, being without their best forward and number one goalie couldn’t have come at a better time for the Leafs.
“It still sucks [watching], you want to be out there playing,” said Andersen. “I don’t think you either take it slower or faster than you want to, you just make sure you’re doing what you need to do to be at your best and that’s what we’ve been doing.”
As for Zaitsev and Komarov, they will make the trip to Tampa and Nashville this week with the team and their status will be reevaluated then. Zaitsev participated in practice for the first time since March 9 on Monday, but hasn’t played since March 5 in Buffalo. He said “it was craziness” how bad the flu ended up being, and Babcock said he’ll have to get his weight up before he can step back in.
Komarov missed Saturday’s game after sustaining a lower-body injury in a collision with William Nylander last Thursday in Buffalo. He went through a 17-minute workout with a trainer prior to Leafs practice that focused mostly on testing his injured left leg but did not skate with his teammates.
Even with the missing bodies, the Leafs have reeled off four consecutive wins heading into their last multi-game road trip of the season, and they’ve won a franchise-record 12 straight games at home. With playoffs a mere three weeks away, Babcock is concerned with keeping those winning ways alive than he is stressing about who’s in the lineup.
“I never thought much about the injuries; guys get hurt and you’ve [still] got to play,” said Babcock. “My biggest concern is when they get back, are they ready to play? Have they done enough work? So that’s what our focus has been with those guys. With the other guys the focus has obviously been on winning games.”