Auston Matthews has a new injury and will miss time for Leafs

Auston Matthews will be missing some time for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Today, the team announced that he’s out with a day-to-day upper-body injury, preventing him from being in the lineup against the Boston Bruins when Toronto hosts their longtime rivals on Tuesday night.

It is not totally clear where the injury stemmed from, given that he played 22:12 on Sunday night in Toronto’s 2-1 loss against the Minnesota Wild, picking up an assist on Toronto’s lone goal. Matthews spoke to the media following the contest and did not share any signs that he would be missing any action.

What does the injury mean for the Leafs?

First and foremost, Toronto will have to find a new top-line centre for the time being, with Max Domi or John Tavares the likeliest candidates for the job.

Matthews has five goals and six assists in 13 games this season. The Leafs will miss his scoring touch against Boston, as they’ve fallen in eight consecutive regular-season contests against the Atlantic Division foes. It is the second matchup between the two teams since last spring’s playoff series, where Boston came out victorious by way of a Game 7 overtime-winning goal off the stick of David Pastrnak.

Puck drop is set for 7 pm between the Leafs and the Bruins on Tuesday. With Toronto expected to hit the ice for morning skate in the coming hours, perhaps some more news will drop about the reason for the captain’s absence, as well as how the team’s lines will shake out for the time being.

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