Maple Leafs Announce Auston Matthews' Status Ahead of Game vs. Detroit Red Wings

Since suffering an upper-body injury on Tuesday, Auston Matthews has not skated since.

It didn't seem to bother Toronto against the Bruins, however it was worrying that Matthews was not right back on the ice as it looked like it could be worse than anticipated.

Everyone has waited with bated breath as his availability for Friday's game against Detroit, and Saturday in Montreal was in doubt, as fans wondered exactly the severity of their captain's injury.

Head coach Craig Berube gave insight into his captain's status on Friday ahead of their game against Detroit, stating that the Maple Leafs will be down their superstar once again:

His status for the Montreal game is still up in the air but as former Maple Leafs player-turned analyst Nick Kypreos said basically to sit Matthews both games.

There's no point in risking him getting another injury or being a detriment to the team at any point, especially given their 36-19-2 record without Matthews.

Going in the right direction though is a huge step forward toward his eventual return.

It will be up to the rest of the team to take over in Matthews' absence again but as stated previously, they won't have too much of an issue; hopefully. Toronto wants to give themselves the best chance to win, so they need to start Anthony Stolarz and keep things as they were against Boston.

The team looked as cohesive as ever without their star and it's perplexing how they don't play like this all the time.

Matthews has been off to a bit of a slower start this season, only scoring five goals before the injury, however it can be boiled down to a mix of bad luck and a new defensive role bestowed upon him by head coach Craig Berube.

We will see if Toronto can have the same response they had against the Bruins as they take on the Detroit Red Wings from Scotiabank Arena, Fri. Nov. 8. Puck drops at 7 PM ET.