TORONTO -- Auston Matthews did not practice Thursday because of an upper-body injury and his availability for the Toronto Maple Leafs next two games is uncertain.
The Maple Leafs have back-to-back games against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday (7 p.m. ET; TSN4, TVAS-D, FDSNDET) and the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
"He's doing okay," coach Craig Berube said. "It's still a day-to-day thing right now. That's really the update I have for you. [If he plays this weekend] is to be determined still. It's hard for me to answer that question knowing what I know right now with him today. Look, I can't tell you what's going to happen tomorrow or the next day. I wish I could, but I can't."
Berube said Matthews also did not skate prior to practice on Thursday. He confirmed Tuesday that while the injury has been lingering, it is not related to the wrist injury that led Matthews to having surgery to correct the issue during the 2021 offseason.
Matthews did not play in a 4-0 win against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. The Maple Leafs lost 4-3 to the Bruins in their best-of-7 First Round series in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Maple Leafs are 36-19-2 all-time when Matthews has been unavailable since he entered the League in the 2016-17 season. He missed two games in the Eastern Conference First Round last season because of an illness and undisclosed injury, and one game during the regular season because of the flu.
"No I'm not going to say (his absence gave us a boost)," Toronto forward Max Pacioretty said Thursday. "We are talking about the best player in the world here. You want him in the lineup every night possible. There is no replacing him. There is a boost when you know he is in here doing everything he can to come back and help the team. Maybe that gives you a boost in a sense where we want to make sure we do right by him; he's our leader. But once again, we are talking about the best player in the world. It's hard to justify."
Matthews, who has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 13 games this season, last played Sunday in the Maple Leafs 2-1 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild when he had an assist and three shots on goal in 22:12.
