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Auston Matthews out at least 3 weeks, Aleksander Barkov gets All-Star spot

The 25-year-old star center has 53 points in 47 games this season.

TORONTO, ON — Toronto Maple Leafs superstar center Auston Matthews will be out at least the three weeks with a knee injury, the team announced Friday.

Matthews suffered a knee sprain in a 3-2 overtime win over the New York Rangers on Jan. 25.

The 25-year-old recorded 25 goals and 53 points in 47 games this season. He won both the Richard Trophy and the Hart Trophy in 2022 after posting 60 goals and 106 points in 73 games last season.

Matthews was scheduled to play in the NHL All-Star Game next weekend in Florida, but he’ll be replaced by Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov.

Barkov has recorded 13 goals and 30 assists in 40 games this season, and an argument that William Nylander of the Leafs or Tim Stutzle of the Ottawa Senators should have been chosen to replace Matthews.

The NHL, though, elected to go with Barkov, who will join fellow Panther Matthew Tkachuk on the Atlantic Division squad on home ice in Sunrise.

What’s key about the Matthews announcement is the addition of “minimum” with respect to his projected three week absence. The earliest he could be back, then, would be February 17, but he would miss only a handful of games because of the All-Star break and a scheduled bye week for Toronto.

Toronto sits 12 points back of Boston for first place in the Atlantic with one more game played, and the likelihood of catching the Bruins lowers without Matthews in the lineup. 

The Maple Leafs are five points up on third-place Tampa Bay, and the Lightning have two fewer games played. 

A shift there could result in Toronto losing home ice advantage in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and don’t forget the Maple Leafs lost to those Lightning in Toronto in Game 7 last year. 

Matthews’ injury could therefore have further implications than missing the All-Star Game.

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