Toronto Maple Leafs’ captain Auston Matthews will remain on the sidelines with an upper-body injury when the Vegas Golden Knights travel north of the border.
Craig Berube says Auston Matthews will not play against Vegas this week. Has not been on the ice the last few days. Says he’s not getting worse.
— David Alter (@dalter) November 18, 2024
The Maple Leafs and Golden Knights will meet on Wednesday in Toronto when the Golden Knights begin a five-game road trip. The road trip will see them take on the three Eastern Canadian teams, the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens and the Maple Leafs before travelling back to the USA to take on the Philadelphia Flyers and conclude their trip with a rivalry matchup against the Colorado Avalanche.
The trip will fortunately start with a bit of luck for the Golden Knights, who won’t have to worry about slowing down Matthews. Wednesday’s game will mark the seventh consecutive game he’s missed. In the 13 games he has played, the 27-year-old has scored five goals and 11 points, a relatively slow start for the centre who scored 69 goals last year.
In his career, Matthews has nine goals and 12 points in 11 games against the Golden Knights. Matthews’ absence will mean that he and Jack Eichel will miss another opportunity to face off. The two have played together with Team USA and have been compared to one another by rival fans when Eichel played for the Buffalo Sabres.
Related: Jack Eichel’s Point Streak Reaches Five Games As Golden Knights Extend Pacific Division Lead
Both the Golden Knights and the Maple Leafs will understand the importance of picking up two points. The Maple Leafs will want to take care of business and win at home and the Golden Knights will want to start their road trip off on a high note.
Despite the absence of the 2016 first overall pick, the Maple Leafs and Golden Knights have star-studded lineups that should lead to an excellent back-and-forth game.
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