Auston Matthews Out at Least Three Weeks, All-Star Replacement Named

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced on Friday that star center Auston Matthews will miss at least three weeks due to a knee sprain sustained in Wednesday's game against the New York Rangers:

As it were, Matthews will not participate in the NHL's All-Star festivities scheduled for February 3-4 in sunny South Florida. Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov will fill in for the injured Matthews.

In 47 games, Matthews has posted 53 points (25g, 28a) and 16 PIMs; he had 18 PIMs all of last season, and he is on pace to fall short of last season's incredible 60-goal marker.

Still, the Leafs' record of 30-11-8 has them firmly entrenched in the Atlantic Division's 2nd spot, wedged in between the runaway Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Leave it to Leafs' superfan Steve Dangle to put it all in perspective:

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