Matthews Suffers Knee Sprain

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced Friday that All- Star Center Auston Matthews will miss at least the next three weeks to a knee sprain.

Matthews, who was selected as the Maple Leafs All-Star representative this season, is currently second on the team in goals (25) and third in points (53). Last years Hart Trophy winner will be replaced in the All-Star game by Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov.

When asked about the injury to Matthews, Toronto Captain John Tavares stated “He's such a big part of our team and one of the best players in the world, so it's unfortunate. Hopefully he gets back here as quick as possible, I know he'll do everything that needs to be done to do that and be ready to play. For us as a team, we have to come together and not really try to fill the void but I think just play to our team identity and what's made us successful. We've shown good depth throughout the season, so there's opportunity for other guys to step up."

The Maple Leafs are currently second in the Atlantic Division, twelve points behind the league leading Boston Bruins. The Leafs will hope to keep in range of Boston over the next few weeks without Matthews, and hope to have him back before the end of February.