Call this movie the Longest Day-to-Day.
Not only was Auston Matthews not on the ice again Tuesday, he wasn’t even in the country, but seeing a doctor in Munich Germany this week to try and help what has been a mysterious upper-body injury that has kept the Rocket Richard Trophy-winning captain out since Nov. 3rd with just a couple of scant solo skating sightings since.
The break in the schedule – just three games in a nine-day stretch that concludes Sunday against Utah – was deemed the right time for more examination by he and the Maple Leafs.
At the time Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was reporting Matthews’s trip overseas, general manager Brad Treliving decided to address the media at large after practice at the Ford Centre.
“We haven’t been trying to be cryptic with all this stuff,” Treliving insisted. “We’ve been calling it day-to-day, because that’s what it has been.
“We’ve looked at the schedule and hopefully use this week to get this thing behind him. As part of that he and (team medical director Dr.) Noah Forman went over to see a doctor (Matthews) has used in the past. More as a general check-up, but to try and get some work done on this thing.”
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While the word surgery never came up Tuesday, the trip does raise a red flag, given the Leafs’ substantial medical, sports science and high-performance team already here and coach Craig Berube’s daily assertions that the ailment was not serious, was trending in the right direction, etcetera.
“It’s not alarming,” Treliving reiterated. “We’re hopeful once we get through the week here, he’ll be back up and skating and his return to play will be after that.
“Again, it’s nothing new, no setback.”
Though the Leafs have managed to stay in the hunt for first place in the Atlantic Division minus Matthews, with a record of 5-1 in this latest hiatus and 40-20-2 in his various absences, it’s still a concern with the club running low on natural centres.
Penalty killer David Kampf went on injured reserve Tuesday morning ahead of Wednesday’s match versus Vegas, so after John Tavares and Max Domi, the latter yet to score at centre for Matthews or on the wing, Steven Lorentz was practising in the middle with call-up Fraser Minten on the fourth line. Berube can also use Mitch Marner and William Nylander for draws.
“We’ll miss Kampf, but Minten is up here now, a smart player,” Berube said. “He was playing well in the minors (four points in five games after a high ankle sprain in rookie camp). I think he’s the right guy right now.”
Minten made last year’s team out of camp, but played just four games without a point before returning to the WHL.
“My body feels good and it’s really great to be playing again,” Vancouver native Minten said. “There are less nerves than last year and I know lots of the guys. I’m still green but feel at home.
“(Berube) said play my game, have fun, be confident. I’ve gone over some structural things with (assistant coach Lane Lambert). I’m going be as consistent as I can with my play and try and make a positive impact.”
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