BOSTON — Auston Matthews was forced to watch with the Maple Leafs' season on the line.
Battling an illness the better part of the last week, the three-time Maurice Richard Trophy winner as the NHL's top goal-scorer made a brief appearance at Tuesday's optional morning skate with Toronto down 3-1 to the Boston Bruins in the teams' first-round playoff series.
Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the morning session his best player was"working through things to try and make himself available."The 26-year-old centre had a monster Game 2 with a goal and two assists to help the Leafs even the series 1-1, but didn't look like himself two nights later in a 4-2 loss.
He was on the ice Saturday morning ahead of Game 4 and tried to give it a go before being pulled from the action by doctors in the second intermission as Toronto was pushed to the brink in a disappointing 3-1 defeat. "I just look at the last couple of games the way he's given us everything that he's got," Keefe said."This time of year, the players are going to do all that they can to get out there, and the medical team is going to do all that they can to make sure the players are available, while also making sure they're taken care of.""Doctors make the call for the players and their best interests," he said."They won't put anybody in harm's way.
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