TORONTO — Auston Matthews skated Saturday for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury but did not play for the Toronto Maple Leafs in their 4-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
The Maple Leafs forward and captain was placed on injured reserve Friday, retroactive to Nov. 3.
“He’s going in the right direction,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “He was on the ice today, which was great news. He’s feeling better, so it’s good.”
Berube previously expressed confidence in the short-term nature of Matthews’ injury after he missed practice Thursday.
“He’s doing OK,” Berube said Thursday. “It’s still a day-to-day thing right now. That’s really the update I have for you. … 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 has said that while Matthews’ injury has been lingering, it is not related to the wrist injury that led to him having surgery to correct the issue during the offseason after the 2020-21 season.
Matthews did not play in a 4-0 win against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday or a 3-1 victory against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday.
The Maple Leafs are 37-19-2 all-time when Matthews has been unavailable since he entered the League in the 2016-17 season. He missed two games during 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 provided 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 in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, when he had an assist and three shots on goal in 22:12.
The Maple Leafs recalled and activated forward Connor Dewar from long term injured reserve Friday. He has not played this season because of a shoulder injury.
