Maple Leafs provide latest update on Auston Matthews ahead of Game 7!

The Toronto Maple Leafs have survived two elimination games agaisnt the Boston Bruins in round one without Auston Matthews, and with head coach Sheldon Keefe’s latest update on Friday, it feels like the Canadian team might have it to make it three.

“There’s been progress. He skated again here today, but no determination on his availability,” Keefe said, per TSN’s Mark Masters.

There is a sense that it is more and more unlikely that Matthews will be able to dress for do or die Game 7 in Boston on Saturday. What makes it even harder to speculate though if that no one truly knows what exactly is ailing Matthews.

The Leafs’ No. 1 center was dealing with an illness in Games 3 and 4 before getting hurt on an “innocuous hit while playing sick,” according to a report from the Athletic.

Since then, several hypotheses have emerged on what is wrong with Matthews, including videos emerging on what might have happened to him during the series. Team doctors pulled him out of Game 4 during the second intermission.

According to one source who spoke with The Athletic, it would be “reckless” for him to play in Game 7.
Matthews, who had a goal and two assists in Toronto’s Game 2 win, has been watching as his teammates have survived both Games 5 and 6. Without Matthews, the Maple Leafs have relied on defense and goaltending to pull out a pair of 2-1 victories, forcing a Game 7 tomorrow. If the Maple Leafs win the series, this would be a brutal reminder of last year’s playoffs for the Bruins when they were leading 3-1 in their first round series against the Florida Panthers only to be eliminated in seven games as the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners.

The Maple Leafs may have to go into Game 7 without Matthews again, but be motivated to move on to the Second Round and have a chance to welcome back their star forward for more games into the postseason.

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