Maple Leafs confirm Auston Matthews' status ahead of Devils matchup

Toronto will be going captain-less against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night as the team has ruled out Auston Matthews after he was a game-time decision earlier in the day:

The team officially announced he would miss the contest, as well as be considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury:

It's a huge blow to the Maple Leafs offense that was seemingly just turning a corner recently and with the latest injuries to two of their top scorers; it's becoming dire times again very quickly in Toronto.

Matthews was injured after blocking a shot against Detroit on Sunday, and while he managed to play that game to completion, according to sources it was on pure adrenaline and not because he wasn't hurt:

The team is already heavily short-handed with the loss of Matthews and Nylander, not to mention they will be without Chris Tanev or Dakota Joshua; the latter suffering a serious injury that may require a lengthy bit of time off.

Matthews, 29, had concerns about injuries throughout the season and has already missed some time with an injury suffered against San Jose a few weeks ago.

While he hasn't been his dominant self, he's picked things up as of late and still has 27 points in 33 games (15 goals, 12 assists) while winning nearly 59% of his face-offs.

But if he is to miss any extended period of time, then the Maple Leafs are going to have to rely on John Tavares to lead the top line, as he'll do with Max Domi and Matthew Knies vs. New Jersey. It's nothing he can't handle but we need to see the old Tavares from earlier in the season if the team wants to be successful.

For now though, the Maple Leafs will have to deal with another injury to their captain and hopefully this time it's not something that will determine the outcome of his season when he returns.