NHL: Washington Capitals at Toronto Maple Leafs - Source: Imagn
Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews returned to practice Monday morning for the first time since he re-aggravated his upper-body injury in a 6-3 win on December 20 against the Buffalo Sabres. He participated in a full-capacity, though he rotated in and out of line rushes and did not participate in any special teams activities.
The norm for NHL players is to get in a full practice partaking in line rushes and special teams before returning to game action. Therefore it's not a great sign for Matthews' availability tomorrow.
Maple Leafs reporter and journalist David Alter shared on X (formerly Twitter):
"Craig Berube confirms that Auston Matthews will not play tomorrow," Alter said on X.
