The Toronto Maple Leafs’ backs are up against the wall. After an ugly effort in a 3-1 loss in Game 4, they now find themselves trailing 3-1 in their first-round series versus the Boston Bruins, and will need a win tonight if they hope to continue their season. Doing so, however, won’t come easy.
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Though it has yet to be confirmed, there is a chance Auston Matthews winds up missing tonight’s game. The Leafs claimed the 26-year-old superstar has been dealing with an illness earlier in the series, though that has since been heavily questioned after he was able to play two periods in Game 4 before leaving the game. It is an odd situation that is creating far more headlines than they need at this time.
Leafs Hiding All Injuries
The biggest story for the Leafs as their series began was the situation involving William Nylander as the 27-year-old was mysteriously out of the lineup in Game 1 after having played the final game of the regular season. With the Leafs failing to clarify on what was going on, rumours spread like wildfire, with some suggesting he may have been a healthy scratch following a few lazy plays in their regular-season finale.
All speculation of a potential healthy scratch was quickly dismissed when it was announced that Nylander would also miss Game 2. While that was clearly not the issue, however, no one knew what was going on, with media continually asking the team and writing stories on what could potentially be leading to his absence.
Eventually, it was Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman who solved the mystery, reporting that Nylander was dealing with migraines after a head injury suffered late in the season. That has since been confirmed, which helped calm down what had turned into a media circus. Nylander was able to suit up for Game 4, but had the Leafs just been open and honest from the get-go, it would have helped eliminate what became a very unnecessary distraction for an already very-fragile group.
One would think the Leafs would have learned their lesson following the Nylander situation, but now, the exact same scenario is playing out with Matthews. It was reported following a Game 3 loss that Matthews was dealing with an illness. That may have very well been the case, but it is quite evident that more is going on.
As mentioned, Matthews was only able to play two periods of Game 4 before being taken out of the game. Clips showed him struggling to get up and down the ice in the second period, causing many to believe there was an injury the Leafs were failing to make public.
This morning, Matthews hit the ice ahead of practice, but stayed out for just five minutes before exiting. If it wasn’t already crystal clear that there was something more than an illness going on, it was seemingly confirmed when head coach Sheldon Keefe declined to answer if there was something beyond sickness going on with his star forward.
Distractions Last Thing Leafs Needed
Given all their playoff failures with this current group of players, this feels like the last opportunity the “core four” of Matthews, Nylander, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares will get to prove they are capable of going on a lengthy run. They were already facing a ton of pressure entering this year’s playoffs given the circumstances, and this additional noise has only added more.
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While no team tends to specify the exact injury any of their players are dealing with in the playoffs, they don’t try and outright hide the fact they are injured, either. Had the Leafs just admitted both Nylander and Matthews were dealing with unspecified ailments, it would have caused much less of a distraction for the team. Instead, it is all everyone seems to be talking about as the Leafs find themselves on the brink of elimination once again.