TORONTO -- Auston Matthews did not play for the Toronto Maple Leafs in Friday's 5-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings and will not play on Saturday against the Washington Capitals (7 p.m. ET; CBC, SNE, SNO, SNP, NHLN, MNMT2).
The center missed Toronto's two previous games because of an upper-body injury, and was ruled out through the weekend.
"He's doing better, but I would say no to tomorrow, too," Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said Friday. "Again, he's doing better, which is good, but I can't give you much more than that, to be honest. We'll update you again tomorrow."
The Maple Leafs center and captain did not participate in a full morning skate prior to a 6-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 20, but scored and played 19:18. He took two hard hits in the game, one from Sabres forward Tage Thompson in the first period and a cross check from defenseman Dennis Gilbert in the third period, though he finished the game.
Matthews missed nine games last month because of an upper-body injury and returned Nov. 30, a 5-3 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. During his recovery, he took a five-day trip to Germany to visit a doctor who both he and other Maple Leafs players have seen in the past, for consultation. The injury was one he had been managing since missing time during the preseason.
As for whether the injury he sustained against the Sabres is related to the previous injury or is an isolated issue, Berube previously said, "probably a little of both."
Neither Matthews nor Berube have offered any further specifics as to the nature of the previous injury, though the coach did indicate earlier it is not related to a wrist injury Matthews previously had surgery on during the 2021 offseason.
Matthews has 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 11 games since returning from the injury, helping Toronto to an 8-3-0 record during that span. He is fourth on the Maple Leafs with 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 24 games this season.
He led the League with a career-high 69 goals last season and has scored at least 40 goals in each of the previous five seasons. Since entering the NHL in the 2016-17 season, Matthews leads the NHL with 379 goals, 29 more than Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers, who is second.
Toronto went 7-2-0 without Matthews last month and is 43-22-2 all-time without him.
