Auston Matthews left Toronto Maples Leafs fans disappointed on Saturday when he exited Game 4 of the team’s Eastern Conference first-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
Matthews had just over 14 minutes of ice time across 17 shiffts for the Leafs in Game 4. However, he did not return to the Leafs’ bench after the second intermission.
Toronto ended up announcing that Matthews would not be returning to the game.
Maple Leafs F Auston Matthews will not return to tonight’s game.
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) April 28, 2024
The Leafs did not disclose anything further about the reason for Matthews’ early exit from the game. The 26-year-old center had played through an illness in Game 3 and missed practice on Friday.
Auston Matthews not back for the start of the third period
Played through an illness in Game 3 & missed practice yesterday @TSN_Edge
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) April 28, 2024
There appeared to be some frustration on Toronto’s bench during Game 4. Sportsnet shared a video that showed Matthews and William Nylander appearing to have an issue.
Frustration has started to set in for the Maple Leafs stars 😠 pic.twitter.com/PbnQBNigKD
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 28, 2024
Matthews scored 69 goals and had 107 points during the regular season, both of which were career-high marks. For him to be at less than full strength against the Bruins was a big loss for Toronto.
Boston had 109 points in the regular season, which ranked fourth in the East. The Leafs were behind them with 102 points.
Boston won Game 4 3-1 to take a 3-1 series lead.
