Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews will miss Thursday night’s preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens with an upper-body injury.
The decision appears to be for precautionary reasons, with head coach Craig Berube telling reporters the injury is “not serious” and that his star center “should be fine.”
Berube did not say whether Matthews would return for Toronto’s preseason game Saturday in Montreal.
“We don’t want lingering injuries and things like that going on,” Berube told reporters. “So we’ve got to make sure that we’re smart.
“It’s been hard. It’s been a tough camp, so when they need to take a break because of something going on, then we let them.”
Matthews, 27, left Tuesday’s practice early and did not participate Wednesday. He was on the ice for an optional skate Thursday morning, according to TSN.
He led the NHL in goals scored for the third time in four seasons in 2023-24, tallying a career-high 69 to go along with 38 assists in 81 games.
Matthews has recorded 649 points (368 goals, 281 assists) in 562 games since Toronto made him the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft.
Including Thursday’s game against the visiting Canadiens, the Maple Leafs have four preseason contests left before opening the regular season at Montreal on Oct. 9.
ESPN’s Kristen Shilton and Field Level Media contributed to this report.