Leafs' record without Auston Matthews is an indication that Leafs Nation should not panic in his absence

Usually when a team loses their best player to an injury - whether that be a game, a week, a month - they tend to struggle. Without your best point producer, goal scorer or playmaker, the offence should dry out a little, right? Apparently that's not the case with the Toronto Maple Leafs when it comes to Auston Matthews being sidelined.

Matthews will be out for the next 3 weeks due to a knee sprain that he suffered during their recent 3-2 overtime win against the New York Rangers. The reigning MVP has 25 goals and 53 points in 47 games this season, was pacing the Leafs' offense behind only William Nylander and Mitch Marner, and was voted in as one of the final 3 selections for the Atlantic Division in this year's All-Star game.

The Maple Leafs are enjoying another successful regular season campaign as they sport a 30-11-8 record, which puts them 2nd in the Atlantic Division, T2nd in the Eastern Conference and in the NHL. The Tampa Bay Lightning, who have a few games in hand, are right on their tail but even without Matthews in the lineup, the Leafs tend to play well - maybe even marginally little better.

With Matthews in the lineup the Leafs are 259-136-59 which is good for a .635 points percentage, and their power play is humming at 23.4%.


Without Matthews, the Leafs are 31-16-2, which is good for a .653 points percentage, and somehow a better power play success rate at 27.7%

Now, obviously the Leafs are better off with Matthews than without. A player of his caliber doesn't come along all that often, especially when it comes to his goal scoring prowess. However, when the team is forced to play without him, they've just been very good at banding together and elevating their game for short periods of time to soften the blow of losing their top player.

With the All-Star break approaching and then a mandatory bye week following, the Leafs will only have to be without Matthews for a minimum of 6 games, if the 3 week timetable rings true. That leaves the rest of the team to fend off the Ottawa Senators, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, home and home with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Chicago Blackhawks before potentially coming back against the Montreal Canadiens. Not the worst slate of games to miss out on with the lone exception being the mighty Bruins.