Auston Matthews dealing with lingering wrist ailment, mental impact of a persistent injury
Toronto Maple Leafs leading goalscorer Auston Matthews may be back in the lineup, but he has found it challenging to get back into a rhythm since his return on March 3rd against the Edmonton Oilers.
Despite racking up 15 shots in his three games since returning from a wrist/hand injury, Matthews has been uncharacteristically held off the score sheet for three consecutive games for the first time this season.
Leafs bench boss Sheldon Keefe has confirmed that Matthews' ailment continues to linger and that with his shot being impacted by the nagging injury, he has had to move him around on the power play to accommodate, as the one-timer is not the same level of threat that it had been earlier on in the season. Aside from the physical aspect of it, Matthews has also experienced some confidence issues, Keefe reveals.
"He's dealing with the mental effect of not being 100% himself," said the Leafs head coach. "[When missing time] you lose your rhythm a little bit. But he's found ways to generate chances and shots."
Matthews took the route of downplaying his physical and mental struggles, offering the opinion that rest will help, identifying next week as a chance for his wrist/hand to get the rest it needs to get back to being 100%.
"It's been alright. Still need to progress a bit, but we've got some rest coming up next week so hopefully just progress throughout [this week] and continue to feel better. I think I'm still trying to find my rhythm for sure," said Matthews of his recovery.
The Leafs play four games in six nights beginning on Tuesday, but will enjoy a four-day break, starting Monday, March 15th, which is what Matthews is alluding to.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Taylor Hall | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Brayden Point | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Brock Nelson | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Bryan Rust | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Pavel Zacha | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Quinn Hughes | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Carter Verhaeghe | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Erik Karlsson | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Elias Lindholm | - | 3 | 3 | |
| David Pastrnak | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Tim Stutzle | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Adam Gaudette | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Dylan Holloway | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Brad Marchand | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Aleksander Barkov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sam Bennett | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Sean Couturier | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Alex DeBrincat | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jack Drury | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Cutter Gauthier | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 23 | 18 | 5 | - | 36 | |
Hurricanes | 22 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 33 | |
Wild | 22 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 32 | |
Devils | 25 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 32 | |
Capitals | 22 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 31 | |
Golden Knights | 23 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 31 | |
Maple Leafs | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Flames | 23 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 28 | |
Panthers | 23 | 13 | 9 | 1 | 27 | |
Kings | 23 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 27 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||