You can consider Auston Matthews out until at least March.
The Toronto Maple Leafs center has a shoulder injury and while he's officially listed as day to day, head coach Mike Babcock was a little more forthcoming Saturday when he confirmed Matthews won't play against Boston, with Josh Leivo stepping into the lineup.
"We always tell you day to day, that usually means 10 and we go from there," Babcock said, according to TSN's Kristen Shilton.
"He's fine, he's injured, he's fine," Babcock added. "He's going to get better. He'll be back soon."
Matthews leads Toronto in goals (28), points (50), and average ice time among forwards (18:19). His dominance at even strength - he has only two goals and five assists on the power play - is impossible to replace.
William Nylander will take Matthews' spot at center, and Connor Brown and Kasperi Kapanen are moving up in the lineup:
Projected Leafs line-up tonight sans Matthews
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) February 24, 2018
Marleau-Kadri-Marner
Hyman-Nylander-Brown
JvR-Bozak-Kapanen
Komarov-Moore-Leivo
Rielly-Hainsey
Gardiner-Zaitsev
Dermott-Polak
Andersen starts
Toronto hosts Boston on Saturday night. The Bruins are a point ahead of the Maple Leafs with five games in hand.
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