Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews will miss a second consecutive game on Friday and his absence saddens his teammates, particularly Max Pacioretty.
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Number 34 is still bothered by an upper body injury that caused him to miss Tuesday’s duel against the Boston Bruins. His head coach Craig Berube confirmed that Matthews will have to forfeit the game scheduled against the Detroit Red Wings in the evening; it remains to be seen if the American will be able to compete against the Montreal Canadian on Saturday.
Even though the Leafs won 4-0 in their last outing, no one is happy to see the star forward remain on the floor, starting with Pacioretty who took out the censer for him this week.
“I won’t say [que nous sommes moins bons sans lui, mais] we are talking about the best player in the world here,” replied the former Habs, as reported by the magazine The Hockey News. “So we want to see him in training every night and it is impossible to replace him. When we know it’s there, it gives momentum. […] Maybe it’s because we want to make sure we do well in front of him. He’s our leader. But like I said, this is the best on the planet.”
This season, Matthews has five goals and six assists for 11 points in 13 games.
