Maple Leafs Facing Elimination Following 3-1 Defeat to Bruins and Matthews' Illness

Saturday, April 27th, 2024

Auston Matthews, the Toronto Maple Leafs' leading center, was unable to play in the fourth game of the playoff series against the Boston Bruins due to sickness, contributing to a 3-1 loss.

Sheldon Keefe, the team's coach, mentioned that Matthews had already played through his illness during the third game and had missed several team practice sessions to recover. Matthews exited the game after the second period in Game 4, following a decision by the medical team, according to Keefe.

The Bruins secured an early lead of 1-0 and extended their lead with two additional goals in the second period, making it a 3-0 lead as they entered the third period.

The Maple Leafs have not won a playoff game at home in six attempts since the 1970s and have managed to score three goals or fewer in their last 11 playoff games.

The mood was tense among the Toronto players, with exchanges occurring between Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander on the bench.

Marner managed to score the only goal for Toronto in the third period, yet the team couldn’t make the most of their power play chances.

In an attempt to shake things up, Keefe swapped Ilya Samsonov for Joseph Woll as the goalkeeper in the last period, while Boston continued with Jeremy Swayman, boasting a 6-0-0 record against Toronto.

Despite the unfavorable outcome, Keefe affirmed the team's hard work and expressed intentions to bounce back in Game 5 in Boston, with the season on the line.

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