More Signs Point to Auston Matthews Not Being At His Best: Status for Battle of Ontario Confirmed

As Toronto looks to keep the Ottawa Senators at bay in the Atlantic Division, they are going to be doing so coming off a momentum shaking loss to the leading Florida Panthers; a game the Maple Leafs needed to win, but ultimately came up short.

So for Saturday's night game, they are going to need their best to be at their best. That includes captain Auston Matthews, who has been speculated to be dealing with yet another injury and could explain why his goal scoring prowess has fallen off a cliff this season.

According to sources, Matthews was not seen skating during the morning practice, a worrying sign for the team. However, he is not scheduled to miss the Battle of Ontario clash on Saturday night.

It's noted that Matthews' absence is to give the captain a bit of a break before the team takes the ice, however it still brings a lot of concerns about his future.

Battling through injuries all season, if another one strikes Matthews it's going to be a death sentence for the team's playoff hopes. While he may not be on the shelf, his lack of impact is hurting the team as much as an absence would.

Yes, he's had a 12-game point streak, but only three goals since returning from the 4 Nations Face-Off, and his 5v5 numbers have drastically decreased, so something isn't clicking.

Could it be Craig Berube's game plan? We already saw he wanted to use the captain in a more defensive and well-rounded role, leading to less chances but this is becoming a genuine issue.

We're 65 games into the season with Matthews only having 23 goals; at this point last year he had 55.. Nobody, especially a player of Matthews' caliber suddenly loses 30+ goals without an underlying issue.

If he is dealing with an issue, he needs to be honest with the team as there's no possible way for the team to give him the rest he needs if they have no clue what's going on. It's great for Matthews to stick it out, but if he's invisible come playoff time; it's another sad exit for Toronto, and the potential end of Mitch Marner.

We'll need to see how the Maple Leafs captain takes these next two or three weeks in stride.

If he picks it up and starts putting the puck in the net consistently again, it's just a down year all things considered.

But if he doesn't, and continues to bring a lack of impact during the postseason?

Enjoy the last few weeks of Mitch Marner, and another quick first round exit.