Berube says Matthews is still 'fighting through' upper-body injury
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Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said Friday that star centre Auston Matthews is still fighting through the upper-body injury that forced him to miss time earlier this season.
Matthews was held out of the gameday skate ahead of Friday's matchup with the Buffalo Sabres, but is expected to dress for the game.
"Well it's tough. I mean, he's fighting through it and he's doing, you know, he's doing a pretty good job out there on the ice," Berube told reporters. "Like he's producing and playing hard and working and, you know, we just got to manage it... You know, it'll get better. We just got to manage it though. And that's why he's off the ice today."
Matthews has 10 goals and 22 points in 23 games this season. He missed nine games due to injury in November, flying to Germany during the absence to meet with a specialist.
The 27-year-old forward has five goals and 11 points in 10 games since returning to the team's lineup. He led the NHL last season with 69 goals, posting 107 points in 81 games.
The Maple Leafs are set to deploy Matthews on a loaded top line again Friday with wingers William Nylander and Mitch Marner.
The Maple Leafs have won three of their last four games and sit first in the Atlantic Division with a 20-10-2 record through 32 games. They will take on the Sabres in Buffalo on Friday night before playing host to the New York Islanders on Saturday and the league-leading Winnipeg Jets on Monday afternoon.