Auston Matthews did not get to the finish line at practice on Monday and won’t be making another appearance in the calendar year 2024 for the Maple Leafs.
But that the captain and No. 1 centre stayed for most of the club’s first full workout since Dec. 17. That means Tuesday’s New Year’s Eve home matinee against the Islanders should be the last he misses in his latest bout with a suspected back-related injury that will have cost him the past five starts and 14 in all since November.
But he has proved a challenging project for the team’s medical staff.
“Good to see Auston skating with us and everyone’s excited about him being out there,” said coach Craig Berube. “Tomorrow, he will not play, but he did a good job today and I think he feels pretty good. We’ll go from there.”
The club did not make Matthews available to the media.
Before departing Tuesday, Matthews, who has not played since Dec. 20, moved around a couple of different lines, the telltale sign of his ongoing absence not being included on the first power-play unit. He’d been skating on his own during the team’s three-day Christmas break.
If his comfort level keeps trending positively, he could play Thursday in the road half of the home-and-home games against New York.
“It’s good he’s close, but you want him back healthy and 100%,” said his regular left winger Matthew Knies. “Everyone has stepped up, everyone’s producing and it’s been good to see our depth.”
The Leafs indeed have 12 goals in the most recent four games that the Rocket Richard Trophy winner has missed. But it’s goals against that has bugged Berube, after the Washington Capitals put four in plus an empty netter on Saturday, making it 16 in Toronto’s three-game home losing streak.
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That problem area took up a lot of Monday’s workout, team play off the rush when the play is turned back, which has suffered, along with defensive coverage.
“It’s not like it’s terrible, but there are breakdowns,” Berube said. “We have to be better and find ways to keep the puck out of our net. Puck management, quicker re-loads by our forwards, our F1 and F2 getting beat up the ice by their defence (creating) gaps. You turn over a puck in the high ice and teams are coming.
“We have to have numbers back quicker than we are.”
Tuesday will be the second time in nine days the Leafs host the Isles, who beat them 6-3 to trigger the home skid. The visitors are coming off a 3-2 loss to Pittsburgh, surrendering 13 goals in their three contests since Dec. 21.
“We know what they are, their identity, a patient team that don’t give you a ton,” Berube cautioned of the Isles. “You have to earn your chances. (But) it’s important to us not to be impatient because it could be a real tight game.
“I wasn’t here in the past, but I looked into it. We get impatient at times. Take what they give you, that’s it. Last time we played them, we just opened up too much and they capitalized.”
There is a chance defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson doesn’t get in Tuesday’s lineup after missing practice with an undisclosed illness.
“We’ll have to play that one by ear,” Berube said.
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Joseph Woll starts the 1 p.m. game in net, kicking off a busy 2025 where the Leafs play an average of every second day until late January. Dennis Hildeby, recalled from the Marlies on Monday, has two successful AHL games under his belt now which could mean a start or two ahead of the demoted Matt Murray. Hildeby was named AHL player of the week after stopping 66 of 69 shots.
“Playing a few helped me find my game a little better,” said Hildeby, who was cold when briefly summoned to replace the injured Anthony Stolarz on Dec. 15. “I’m excited. You never know what the plan is, but I hope to take advantage wherever I can, practice or games.”
Toronto’s New Year’s Eve record since its first game in 1918 is 19-10-5-1.
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