Whether his top centre is at 100%, Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe knows what he is going to get out of Auston Matthews.
He has given us everything he has, and because of that, you want to make sure, as a coaching staff and a medical staff, that we would give him every opportunity to be at his best (in Game 4 against the Boston Bruins),” Keefe said on Friday.
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Matthews didn’t practise at the Ford Performance Centre because of what the team called a maintenance day, but he has been dealing with an illness.
After missing the morning skate on Wednesday, Matthews played through his ailment in Game 3 that night. He tied Ryan Reaves for the Leafs lead with eight hits, had seven shot attempts and won nine of his 14 faceoffs. Matthews also had two takeaways and two blocked shots, and was not charged with a giveaway.
Despite not feeling his best, Matthews did just about everything but get on the scoresheet.
“He played extremely hard and had a couple chances that could have fallen his way,” Keefe said. “The one that was off the post (in the second period comes to mind.
“It might have been his most physical game of the series. If he felt he didn’t have it in other ways, he was trying to impact the game in different spots.
In Game 2 on Monday, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Matthews was the best player on the ice, scoring one goal and assisting on Toronto’s other two in a 3-2 victory.
Matthews’ leadership comes in many forms, and he has raised his physical game in the playoffs. He has been credited with 17 hits, second-most in the series after Reaves’ 18. Trent Frederic leads the Bruins with 16 hits.
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