{"id":301099,"date":"2025-11-13T22:44:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T22:44:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/301099\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T22:44:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T22:44:23","slug":"maple-leafs-aim-to-snap-out-of-skid-without-auston-matthews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/301099\/","title":{"rendered":"Maple Leafs aim to snap out of skid without Auston Matthews"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings<\/a> skated at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday. <\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

The Leafs will look to snap out of a three-game losing streak on Thursday without captain Auston Matthews<\/a>, who is dealing with a lower-body injury. <\/p>\n

How long will Matthews be out? <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hoping a week, but maybe sooner,\u201d coach Craig Berube<\/a> said. \u201cWe\u2019ll just see. It\u2019s kind of like one of those things [where] he could come in a couple days from now and [he\u2019s] feeling a lot better, and hopefully he\u2019s good to go, but we\u2019ll see. But it could be as long as a week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berube did not specify how Matthews picked up the injury on Tuesday, but said it did not happen on the big hit from Bruins defenceman Nikita Zadorov<\/a>, which garnered so much attention. <\/p>\n

TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston reports the injury is not connected to the ailment that sidelined Matthews for 15 games last season. <\/p>\n

The Leafs went 10-5-0 without Matthews last year.<\/p>\n

Johnston: Matthews injury isn’t serious and is unrelated to last year’s ailments TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston joins Mark Masters to discuss the injury update on Auston Matthews, the latest on when Joseph Woll will return to the Maple Leafs, if there could be a shakeup coming if Toronto doesn’t turn things around soon, and David K\u00e4mpf exiting the organization amicably. <\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Matthews did not skate with the team on Thursday. John Tavares<\/a> moved up to the No. 1 centre spot skating between Matthew Knies<\/a> and William Nylander. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s in tremendous shape,\u201d said Berube. \u201cI don\u2019t feel it would be an issue if I need to use him more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tavares is averaging 17 minutes and 37 seconds of ice time per game this season, which is down from 18 minutes and 14 seconds last year. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe way I try to prepare and try to take care of myself, I don\u2019t know if it needs to be emphasized, but when things like this happen, or you play a little bit more, or there\u2019s a stretch where you\u2019re playing four in six days, all sorts of things, you know you\u2019re in a good spot to handle the workflow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prior to getting hurt on Tuesday, Matthews led Leafs forwards in even-strength ice time (16:45 per game). Tavares is averaging 14:17 of even-strength ice time per outing. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s kind of been the go-to guy everywhere he\u2019s been,\u201d said Knies. \u201cHe\u2019s been a great player for us, so I expect him to keep going and lead us here.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 35-year-old Tavares is off to a strong start this season with nine goals and 12 assists in 17 games. <\/p>\n

Max Domi<\/a> is moving up to the second-line centre spot. He skated between Bobby McMann<\/a> and Nick Robertson on Thursday morning. <\/p>\n

The third line of Nicolas Roy<\/a> between Dakota Joshua<\/a> and Matias Maccelli<\/a> is staying intact. Steven Lorentz<\/a> will shift from wing to centre on the fourth line. Calle Jarnkrok<\/a>, who was a healthy scratch on Tuesday, draws in. <\/p>\n

Domi is taking Matthews\u2019 spot on the top power-play unit. <\/p>\n

\u201cAn amazing playmaker,\u201d said Nylander of Domi. \u201cWill find and thread the needle, so it\u2019ll be a lot of fun to have him out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leafs Ice Chips: With Matthews out, Tavares ready for more minutes With Auston Matthews out against the Kings tonight, John Tavares will move up to the top line between Matthew Knies and William Nylander. Tavares is off to a great start this season but is playing a little less than last year, and TSN’s Mark Masters asked Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube to assess the ability of Tavares to take on more minutes. <\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Anthony Stolarz<\/a> did not take the ice on Thursday morning. He is listed as day-to-day after leaving Tuesday\u2019s game with an upper-body injury. <\/p>\n

So, Dennis Hildeby<\/a> will play his 10th NHL game on Thursday. The 6-foot-7 goalie, known as \u2018beast\u2019 to teammates, has posted a .909 save percentage in three appearances, including two in relief, since being called up on Saturday. <\/p>\n

\u201cHis demeanour has been excellent,\u201d said Tavares. \u201cObviously he\u2019s a beast for a reason, so I know he\u2019s definitely chomping at the bit for the opportunity here. We\u2019ve got to continue to get better in front of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Artur Akhtyamov<\/a> has been called up from the American Hockey League and will dress as the backup goalie on Thursday. <\/p>\n

Joseph Woll<\/a> is getting a rest day after starting for the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday as part of an AHL conditioning stint. Johnston reports that Woll could be called up on Friday. <\/p>\n

Darcy Kuemper<\/a> starts for the Kings, who are 7-1-2 on the road this season.<\/p>\n

‘He’s a beast for a reason’: With Stolarz out, Hildeby starts against Kings Dennis Hildeby will be starting tonight against the Kings with Anthony Stolarz listed as day-to-day, and his teammates praise the job he’s done in goal with William Nylander saying he’s been ‘unbelievable’ after being thrown ‘right into the fire.’ <\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

The Leafs are facing some early-season adversity as they try and snap out of a skid without their captain and No. 1 goalie. Defenceman Chris Tanev<\/a> and centre Scott Laughton<\/a> are also sidelined. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a veteran group here,\u201d Berube stressed. \u201cI have full trust in these guys. I think that they all know what they have to do and they\u2019ve all been through this before in their careers in different situations, maybe different teams, but I feel like we have a veteran group and we have enough talent and determination to pull through.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Leafs did not lose four in a row last year, which was Berube\u2019s first season behind the bench in Toronto. <\/p>\n

The coach liked what he sensed from his group at the morning skate. <\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t feel there was frustration today,\u201d Berube observed. \u201cI felt like we\u2019re in the right mode to fix it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe energy is great this morning,\u201d said Tavares. \u201cI think guys are upbeat and knowing we just kind of got to stick together and just continue to work through it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a tough game,\u201d said Kings coach Jim Hiller<\/a>. \u201cI know they had a pretty good skate there this morning. We watched a little bit of that. They\u2019ll be ready to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Leafs have allowed five goals in each of the last three games. Toronto ranks dead last in goals against per game (3.82). <\/p>\n

\u201cDefensively we have been, you know, struggling, and that is something that can be fixed,\u201d Nylander said. \u201cYou can adjust and make changes to be better at that, be better [with] attention to details. I would be more worried if we weren\u2019t scoring goals because, you know, that\u2019s harder to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Leafs are second overall in 5-on-5 goals this season.<\/p>\n

Leafs staying positive despite skid: ‘We have enough talent, determination to pull through’ Despite being mired in a three-game losing streak, John Tavares says that the mood around the Maple Leafs’ practice on Thursday was upbeat and they’re focused on sticking together and continuing to work through it. <\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

The Leafs will make one change on defence with Dakota Mermis<\/a> drawing in. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe moves the puck fairly well,\u201d said Berube. \u201cHe\u2019s a good skater. He\u2019s got experience. We\u2019ve used him in the past, so just wanted to make a switch on D.\u201d<\/p>\n

Philippe Myers<\/a> was the last defenceman on the ice at the skate and projects to be a healthy scratch. <\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Kings centre Anze Kopitar<\/a>, who is retiring after this season, will be playing his final regular season game in Toronto. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is the one rink I haven\u2019t scored in,\u201d the 38-year-old said with a smile. \u201cSo we\u2019ll see if we can change that tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

The only other NHL city where Kopitar has not scored is Utah where he\u2019s only played once. <\/p>\n

Kopitar has played at Scotiabank Arena13 times in the NHL (six career assists) and also played six more games here with Team Europe in the 2016 World Cup (four assists). <\/p>\n

After missing some time earlier this season, Kopitar is heating up with points in five of the last seven games. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he was injured there for a couple of games, it was like, \u2018Oh, s–t, without him next year we\u2019re going to be in one,\u201d said defenceman Drew Doughty<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make his last season the best we can possibly make it. It\u2019s not a distraction or anything like that, like, honestly at all. We\u2019re just going business as usual, and we\u2019re not even thinking about him retiring next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doughty tried to talk Kopitar out of retiring in the summer. He calls the Slovenia native the most even-keeled teammate he\u2019s ever played with. <\/p>\n

\u201cI wish I had that quality,\u201d Doughty said with a smile. \u201cI\u2019m f–king up and down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kopitar hoping to finally score in final trip to Toronto Anze Kopitar will play in his final game in Toronto tonight ahead of his retirement at the end of the season and hopes to score his first ever goal in the big smoke. The two-time Stanley Cup winner explains how Drew Doughty tried to talk him out of retirement and talks about the differences between the two teammates. <\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Doughty readily admits that he\u2019s constantly thinking about the Olympics. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re on my mind a lot,\u201d the 35-year-old from London, Ont. said. \u201cObviously, I want to be on that team. You know, offensively, I\u2019m not doing a ton this year or not getting the numbers that I want but, I mean, I\u2019m not going to make that team based on my offence. So as long as I keep playing well defensively, which I have been, I think I got a good shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doughty has produced just two goals and four assists through 17 games. <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019m not on the first power play unit, so that takes away a lot,\u201d he pointed out. \u201cI\u2019m only getting maybe 40 seconds on the PP a night so that\u2019s one thing, and then things just haven\u2019t been going in for me. I\u2019m still playing against the other team\u2019s best lines, like always, and, you know, when you play those guys, you gotta think defence before offence, and that\u2019s what I\u2019ve been doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doughty is averaging 23:15 of ice time this season. He\u2019s the only King logging more than 20 minutes a night. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can skate so much better this year,\u201d said Doughty, who is plus-four. \u201cI was in one last year, and, I mean, I\u2019m moving good. I\u2019m playing good defensively. My gaps are back. I\u2019m playing physical, playing tough in front of the net, and, yeah, I\u2019m back to who I was before last season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doughty fractured an ankle in the pre-season last year and returned just in time to be on Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off.<\/p>\n

Doughty has his eye on Olympics; downplays low point total Drew Doughty says that the Olympics are on his ‘mind a lot’ and he wants to be on the team. He explains that as long as keeps playing well defensively he thinks he has a good shot to make Team Canada. <\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Andrei Kuzmenko<\/a>, who has just three goals and four assists through 17 games, will be a healthy scratch for the Kings on Thursday. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think one of the things [general manager] Ken [Holland] did this summer was add some depth up front,\u201d noted Hiller. \u201cSomebody\u2019s got to sit out. It\u2019s always a tough conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burlington, Ont. native Jeff Malott<\/a> will draw in. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been really good for us,\u201d Hiller said. \u201cPhysical, he\u2019s forechecked. He\u2019s one of those guys that\u2019s dependable. You know what you\u2019re going to get from his game.\u201d <\/p>\n

The 29-year-old will be playing his first NHL game in Toronto. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great story,\u201d said Hiller. \u201cWorked his way through and he\u2019s really, really established himself as an important player for us. It was hard to take him out to begin with. He was one of our more consistent forwards, so he\u2019ll be good. Good spot for him. I\u2019m glad he earned his way into a Toronto game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Malott, who fought defenceman Brandon Carlo<\/a> when the Leafs visited Los Angeles last season, isn\u2019t the only King who will be fired up. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such a fun building to play in,\u201d said Kings defenceman Brandt Clarke<\/a>, who is from Ottawa. \u201cThe whole city is so rampant about the team. We only get to come here once and do this swing once, so we want to make a statement and show people that maybe don\u2019t watch us all that much that we\u2019re a good team out there. So that\u2019s kind of where our heads are at.\u201d<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Lines at Leafs skate: <\/p>\n

Knies – Tavares – Nylander <\/p>\n

Robertson – Domi – McMann<\/p>\n

Joshua – Roy – Maccelli<\/p>\n

Blais – Lorentz – Jarnkrok<\/p>\n

Rielly – Carlo<\/p>\n

Benoit – McCabe<\/p>\n

Mermis – Ekman-Larsson<\/p>\n

Myers<\/p>\n

Hildeby starts<\/p>\n

Akhtyamov<\/p>\n

Power-play units at Leafs skate: <\/p>\n

QB: Ekman-Larsson<\/p>\n

Flanks: Domi, Nylander<\/p>\n

Middle: Tavares<\/p>\n

Net front: Knies<\/p>\n

QB: Rielly<\/p>\n

Flanks: Maccelli, Robertson<\/p>\n

Middle: McMann<\/p>\n

Net front: Roy<\/p>\n

Projected Kings lineup for Thursday\u2019s game: <\/p>\n

Armia \u2013 Kopitar \u2013 Kempe<\/p>\n

Fiala \u2013 Byfield \u2013 Laferriere<\/p>\n

Foegele \u2013 Danault \u2013 Moore<\/p>\n

Malott \u2013 Turcotte \u2013 Perry<\/p>\n

Anderson \u2013 Doughty<\/p>\n

Edmundson \u2013 Clarke<\/p>\n

Dumoulin \u2013 Ceci<\/p>\n

Kuemper starts<\/p>\n

Forsberg<\/p>\n

Related Stories<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings skated at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday. — The Leafs will look…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":301100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5106],"tags":[4759,33999,42705,5,34145,20,5172,35233,4,66,31,32467,5171],"class_list":{"0":"post-301099","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto-maple-leafs","8":"tag-apple-news","9":"tag-auston-matthews-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8479318","10":"tag-dennis-hildeby-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8483710","11":"tag-hockey","12":"tag-john-tavares-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8475166","13":"tag-maple-leafs","14":"tag-mapleleafs","15":"tag-matthew-knies-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8482720","16":"tag-nhl","17":"tag-toronto","18":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs","19":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs-sports-hockey-team-team-nhl-api-10","20":"tag-torontomapleleafs"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115544815276173821","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/301100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}