The Toronto Maple Leafs have officially announced the status of captain Auston Matthews for tonight's game against Detroit, and he will not play. Auston <a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl-team/toronto-maple-leafs/leafs-auston-matthews-has-suffered-an-injury-and-is-out-for-tonight-game-against-the-bruins' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Matthews has yet to take the ice since suffering that upper-body injury</a> on Tuesday. The setback didn't seem to throw Toronto off against the Bruins, but the fact that Matthews has stayed off continues to allude to the possibility that this might be more than a minor injury. The question then became whether or not he would be in the lineup for Friday's tilt with Detroit or Saturday's in Montreal. Naturally, with the captain down, many are wondering just how severe that injury is. On Friday, head coach Craig <a href='https://athlonsports.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/maple-leafs-craig-berube-auston-matthews-injury-update' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Berube confirmed the superstar will once again be absent</a> from the lineup when the Maple Leafs meet up with Detroit. <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/DaveAMcCarthy/status/1854919981198163988'> </a></blockquote></div> His status for the Montreal game is also in doubt. According to analyst and former Leafs player Nick Kypreos, <a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl-team/toronto-maple-leafs/nhl-insider-nick-kypreos-believes-leafs-have-just-told-auston-matthews-they-do-not-need-him' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Matthews should hold out of both games</a>, touting that Toronto can't afford to make his injury any worse. With a good record of 36-19-2 without Matthews, the Leafs can certainly afford to play it safe. With Matthews out, the rest of the lineup will be required to shoulder the burden. Fortunately, they looked strong and cohesive against Boston, so a similar approach could bring about another win. Perhaps the start of Anthony Stolarz in the net was the key to keeping that momentum going. Yes, with only five goals this season, it's a much slower start than the ones he has enjoyed over the past few years, but the culprits behind Matthews' reduced scoring are simply bad luck and a new defensive role courtesy of coach Berube. The question now for Toronto will be if the team can take its positive response from the Bruins game into their matchup with the Detroit Red Wings at the Scotiabank Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 pm tonight.