TORONTO -- Auston Matthews practiced Monday but missed his fifth straight game for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, a 3-1 win against the New York Islanders at Scotiabank Arena.
It was the center’s first time practicing since reaggravating an upper-body injury Dec. 20 during a 6-3 victory at the Buffalo Sabres. However, he was placed on injured reserve, retroactive to that date on Tuesday.
“It was good to see Auston out there skating with us, so that was a good sign,” Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said Monday. “I think everybody was excited about him being out there too. Tomorrow he will not play, but he did a good job in practice today, I thought. I think he feels pretty good, so we will just go from there. That’s all I’ve got for you on that.”
Matthews rotated on line rushes as an extra forward and did not take part in power-play drills. He left about 30 minutes into the 45-minute practice.
John Tavares centered a line with left wing Max Pacioretty and right wing Mitch Marner, and David Kampf was between left wing Matthew Knies and right wing William Nylander. Matthews subbed in for Pacioretty on a few rushes during practice.
The Maple Leafs will face the Islanders at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on Thursday before back-to-back home games against the Boston Bruins on Saturday and the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday.
Matthews, who is Maple Leafs captain, did not participate in a full morning skate prior to the game against the 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.
He 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 teammates have seen in the past for consultation. The injury was one he had been managing since missing time during the preseason.
Toronto went 7-2-0 without Matthews in November.
As for whether the injury he sustained against Buffalo 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 had 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.
Toronto is 2-3-0 since Matthews left the lineup again, and is 44-23-2 all-time without him.
He led the League with a career-high 69 goals last season and has scored at least 40 in each of the previous five seasons. Since entering the NHL in the 2016-17 season, Matthews leads the NHL with 379 goals, 27 more than Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers, who is second.
