TORONTO -- As he continues to be under the weather, Auston Matthews' availability is up in the air for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round between his Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.
But even if he does play, will this be one of, if not the final time Maple Leafs fans see this version of their favorite team as we know it?
The Maple Leafs trail the best-of-7 series 3-1 and are in a win-or-go-home scenario heading into the game at TD Garden (7 p.m. ET, ESPN, NESN, SNP, SNO, SNE, TVAS, CBC). The sobering reality of their situation: If they don’t win their next three outings against the machine-like Bruins, it will be another crushing postseason disappointment for the Toronto organization and its rabid supporters.
An ailing Matthews was unable to play in the third period of Toronto’s 3-1 loss in Game 4 at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday, part of a dysfunctional evening by the hosts that included verbal sniping between teammates on the bench.
With 48 hours between games, coach Sheldon Keefe is hoping the added time gives the Toronto center time to improve his health.
“Not much of an update there (but) luckily, again, we’ve got a couple of days here,” Keefe said Sunday. “We thought the last couple of days would help us. For whatever reason it’s not one of those run-of-the-mill, everyday type of illnesses that sort of come and go.”
To what extent?
“The effects have lingered, and it’s gotten worse every time he gets out on the ice asserting himself,” the coach said. “We’ve just got to manage that and give him the time that he needs.”
Unfortunately for the Maple Leafs, time is running out on them.
They know it too, and it has spawned a powder keg of emotions boiling over after a disagreement on the bench in Game 4 had TV cameras showing William Nylander telling fellow forward Mitch Marner to stop “crying.”
Keefe views the situation as teammates simply pushing each other.
“I look at it as something that happens when things aren’t going well,” Keefe said. “In the past, quite honestly, that wouldn’t have happened. Guys wouldn’t have talked it out, wouldn’t have, if you want to call it, argued it out.
“I look at it as progress and that those guys care. I don’t look at it as frustration. I look at them being upset and (peeved) off that they didn’t deliver for the team, and they’re pushing and challenging each other to get it right.
“They know how important they are to the team. When they’re not delivering, they recognize it. I don’t look at it much more than that. Quite honestly, it’s not the first time that it’s happened.”
But will it be one of the last, given the fact that significant changes on the ice and off could be in the works if Toronto comes up short again?
Since 2004 the Maple Leafs have won just one playoff series, against the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games in their best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round last year.
More recently, the team will fall to 1-8 in postseason matchups since 2016 if they are eliminated by the Bruins this time around. Keep in mind that Matthews, Marner, Nylander and defenseman Morgan Rielly have been part of all of those and, along with captain John Tavares, are considered the core of this team.
Having said that, the postseason futility, at least in the past decade, is a clear message that something is not working. And don’t be surprised if change is in the air.
Keith Pelley, who was recently named CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, was in Boston for Games 1 and 2 and got a first-hand glimpse of the operation run by team president Brendan Shanahan. Meanwhile Brad Treliving, who replaced Kyle Dubas as general manager 11 months ago, will have a decision to make regarding the future of Keefe if the Bruins send Toronto packing in the next week.
On the ice, while Matthews, Nylander and Rielly have long-term contracts, Marner’s deal is up after next season. Despite the forward having a no-movement clause, he could be a candidate to be moved with free agency looming in the summer of 2025, even though the Maple Leafs playoff woes cut far deeper than just one player.
The forward has a goal and an assist in four playoff games this spring and has averaged almost a point per game (11 goals, 38 assists, 49 points in 54 outings) in his postseason career. If he does agree to be moved, can the Maple Leafs get comparable skill back in return?
While that question remains hypothetical at this time, the following facts are not.
The Maple Leafs have failed to score more than two goals in 10 of their past 11 postseason games. They have lost six consecutive home playoff games, outscored 21-11 in the process.
Three consecutive victories by Matthews and his teammates would change that narrative. But it remains a very daunting task, to be sure.
