Maple Leafs stay mum on injured Matthews
There was no sign of Auston Matthews skating with the Toronto Maple Leafs Wednesday amid growing likelihood their leading scorer is held out this entire three-game trip.
Coach Mike Babcock was neither panicking nor providing anything new on Matthews’ much-discussed “upper-body” injury, which many believe could be a concussion given the ongoing veil of secrecy.
Added to Babcock’s “day-today” list are defenceman Andreas Borgman and winger Nikita Soshnikov, the latter placed on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 24, which means he could be activated imminently with clearance. The Leafs do have Kasperi Kapanen up from the American Hockey League as an extra forward.
“Auston’s here, Borgman’s here,” Babcock said after the Leafs were treated to an outdoor practice Wednesday. “What ‘day to day’ means I don’t know for sure. I just know that (Matthews) didn’t skate again today and that means you’re not playing (the Minnesota Wild) tomorrow (Thursday).”
The Leafs wrap up their road trip Friday in Detroit, then have three days off before facing the Carolina Hurricanes. That’s starting to look like the next appearance for Matthews, who came on the trip so the club could monitor his progress and keep him fit with off-ice exercises. Until Tuesday’s 4-2 loss in Philadelphia, Toronto was 5-0 without Matthews.
Babcock insists he does nothing to hound the training staff about getting Matthews back or push any injured Leaf other than make a daily inquiry.
“What I’ve learned over time is I used to ask players questions, but it’s perceived as pressure from the coach. Especially anything that lingers. That’s not my job to put pressure on them. (It’s) when they’re ready to come. We have a great medical staff that prevents the coach from getting his own way. You put pressure on him and he comes back injured — you see it all the time, recurring injuries — it makes no sense.
“In the situation we are (in as the second-place team in the Atlantic), you buy a little time. The other thing is no matter who is away, you have to find a way to win games. Just suck it up, play right and find a way.”
Babcock indicated Wednesday was something of a maintenance day for Borgman, though he should play against the Wild. If not, Connor Carrick is ready for another chance on the blue-line. The story with Soshnikov, who did not come on this trip, is a bit more vague. He played 11 minutes Nov. 24 at Carolina, his third game of the season, before exiting the lineup. Is it still that lower-body injury from last season?
“They thought he was fine,” Babcock said. “He’s not fine. We’ll get another opinion, do whatever we’ve got to do and get it worked out.”
Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau has had far more injuries to deal with than Babcock. On Wednesday, he learned goalie Devan Dubnyk will need an MRI to determine the extent of a lower-body injury.