Matthews mysteriously absent from morning skate

Wednesday morning, ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs game three home game against the Boston Bruins, it appeared that William Nylander was participating, which could be a precursor to his participation this evening. or maybe not. It has also been reported that Auston Matthews, who again appears to be the most consistent player for Maple Leafs through two games, is absent, which raises a giant red flag for anyone hoping for a win this evening.

The Leafs did reasonably well without Nylander the first two games of the series, but his insertion into the lineup would definitely give them a jump, seeing as Mitch Marner has been a ghost to begin the series.





Speaking on Matthews, it's certainly not unusual for players to miss morning skates for rest, however, as Leafs Nation likes to point out in their infinite wisdom sometimes, if someone isn't present when they certainly are scheduled to be, the sky is falling.


Fans and observers alike will likely have to wait later today to find out the status of both Nylander and Matthews and whether either of them are good to go. But it's known historically that teams like to be secretive with these sorts of things and we may learn the fate of the two shortly before puck drop

Update: According to Elliotte Friedman, Matthews simple took the option not to skate.