Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews to miss time due to injury

With five goals in 13 games this season, Auston Matthews is far from producing at the same rate as last year, when he scored 11 goals in the same number of games. While the fact that he has a bigger defensive role with the team can explain why he struggled offensively, a new development could hint at a bigger issue.

On Tuesday morning, it was announced that Auston Matthews would miss tonight's game due to an upper-body injury. We also learned that he's evaluated on a day-to-day basis.

The insider Chris Johnston shared the news on X:

The team hasn't confirmed when the injury occurred, leaving room for speculation to grow. During the Leafs' training camp, Matthews had to miss some time because of an upper-body injury, and some wonder if that same trouble impacted his offensive performance.

The Leafs are set to face the Boston Bruins tonight in what promises to be an emotional game. Both teams met on the ice less than two weeks ago, and the Bruins won 4-3 in overtime after a big mistake by Matthews led to the game-winning goal.

Whenever these two original six teams faceoff, fans can expect an action-packed matchup. Their rivalry took a massive step last year when they met during the playoffs. The Bruins eliminated the Leafs in seven games in what ended up being Sheldon Keefe's final run as head coach in Toronto.