Worries Growing Over Auston Matthews' Health Ahead of Leafs/Panthers Game 4

The Toronto Maple Leafs are up 2-1 against the Florida Panthers ahead of a pivotal Game 4 on Sunday that could define this Atlantic Division rivalry and their 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs showdown.

Unfortunately for Toronto, worries emerged early on Sunday about the status of captain Auston Matthews, who was reportedly not on the ice at morning skate ahead of what could be a must-win for this Maple Leafs team.

In a follow up to that report, it has been revealed that Matthews will play in Game 4, but the fact that he missed morning skate could be an indication he's dealing with a slight injury, and that could hamper him against the incredibly physical Panthers team.

At this time of year, seemingly every player in the league is going through some type of injury issue, and often times, it's the team that can remain somewhat healthy that finds themselves in the Stanley Cup Finals, but with the team already losing Anthony Stolarz, the last thing they need is an injury issue to their captain.

In nine games thus far in the post-season, Matthews hasn't been at his goal scoring best, but with 10 points in nine games whole also playing on the penalty kill, and outside of William Nylander, he may be their most important player.

Ultimately though, the team are confident that Matthews will be on the ice on Sunday night as they look to go up 3-1 in their series, and even if he's battling through things, he'll continue to do so as the team look to win two series for the first time in a very, very long time.