Matthews scored the game-winning goal to wrap up an outstanding performance on Monday, but he may be a little banged up, taking the day off on Wednesday.
When Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman heard the news, he came to the conclusion that it was a rest-related decision, not an injury-related decision.
Matthews is the Leafs' best player, so people will notice when he misses a game day skate. He's also one of the guys who you don't take chances with if you think he's hurt. You give him as much rest as possible.
This time of year sees a lot of players dealing with minor and sometimes major injuries. We saw Matthew Tkachuk attempt to play through what was believed to be a broken sternum or clavicle last year, which is just one of multiple examples of the types of things guys play through.
