TORONTO — Auston Matthews’ availability for Tuesday’s Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round between his Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins is uncertain due to his ongoing illness.
Even if he plays, though, would this be the last time Maple Leafs supporters see this current iteration of their beloved team?
The Maple Leafs enter the game at TD Garden (7 p.m. ET, ESPN, NESN, SNP, SNO, SNE, TVAS, CBC) in a win-or-go-home situation after trailing the best-of-7 series 3-1. The depressing truth of their circumstances: It will be yet another heartbreaking postseason failure for the team if they lose their next three games against the formidable Bruins.
In the third period of Toronto’s 3-1 loss in Game 4 at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday, an injured Matthews was unable to participate. The hosts had a chaotic evening that featured bench-level verbal sparring.
Coach Sheldon Keefe is hopeful that the extra 48 hours between games would allow the Toronto center to become healthier.
Not much has changed there, but fortunately, we still have a few days ahead of us, Keefe said on Sunday. “We believed that the past several days would be beneficial. It is not, for whatever reason, one of those common, daily ailments that comes and goes.
The coach claimed, “The effects have persisted and have gotten worse every time he gets out on the ice asserting himself.” “We simply need to control that and give him the time he requires.”
Regretfully, the Maple Leafs are running out of time.
They are aware of it as well, and a heated argument on the bench during Game 4 that resulted in William Nylander demanding fellow forward Mitch Marner to stop “crying” on TV has caused tensions to flare up.
Keefe sees it as colleagues merely pushing one another.
Keefe remarked, “I see it as something that happens when things aren’t going well.” To be honest, that never would have occurred in the past. Men wouldn’t have discussed it, would they?
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