The Maple Leafs have survived two elimination games without their best player — and it sounds like they will have it to make it three.
The Athletic reported that Auston Matthews is “unlikely” to play in Game 7 against the Bruins after Toronto won the past two games, including Thursday’s 2-1 victory, without the star forward.
What remains unclear in the top-secret world of NHL playoff injuries is what exactly is ailing Matthews.
Matthews was dealing with an illness in Games 3 and 4 before getting hurt on an “innocuous hit while playing sick,” according to the report.
Team doctors pulled him out of Game 4 during the second intermission and one source told The Athletic that it would be “reckless” for him to play in Game 7.
Matthews, who had a goal and two assists in Toronto’s Game 2 win, has been skating in 30-minute sessions with team staffers and taking part in some drills apart from his teammates.
“It’s difficult, obviously, when you got one of the best players in the world and possibly not available,” Maple Leafs captain John Tavares said of Matthews, according to The Hockey News.
“But it’s the nature of the game, the sport, and we’ve been through it before.”
Without Matthews, who had an NHL-best 69 goals this season, the Maple Leafs have relied on defense and goaltending to pull out a pair of 2-1 victories — the first coming in overtime — against the Bruins after falling into a 3-1 series hole.
The Bruins now are facing their ghosts of a season ago when they saw a historic 135-point regular season become meaningless by allowing the Panthers to climb out of a 3-1 series deficit in the first round.
At least one Maple Leafs player admitted that their team discussed that when they fell behind in this series.
“When we got down 3-1, that was a topic we brought up,’’ defenseman Joel Edmundson told the Toronto Star after Game 6. “It gave us momentum and the positivity that we needed. Anything can happen. We knew it was going to be a long series anyway.
“So it doesn’t really matter if we were down 3-1 or not, we were just going to keep chipping away. Honestly, it just starts with one game, build off that one game and keep it rolling. It’s exciting, you’ve got nothing to lose. There’s no tomorrow if you lose, so put everything on the line, one night at a time.’’
That’s the Maple Leafs reality for one more night — with or without their best player.
Game 7 is Saturday night in Boston at 8 p.m.
