Matthews out for Game 5, Woll gets start
Auston Matthews isn't in the Toronto Maple Leafs' lineup for Game 5 of their first-round series against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night.
The 69-goal-scorer missed the third period of Toronto's Game 4 defeat due to illness. He's believed to be battling injury too, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe noted Sunday that it's been a lingering, atypical illness that's gotten worse when Matthews has been on the ice.
Matthews won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy by 12 goals over Florida Panthers forward Sam Reinhart this season, claiming the hardware for the third time in four years.
Meanwhile, Joseph Woll is starting in goal for the Leafs on Tuesday over Ilya Samsonov. Woll relieved Samsonov for the final frame in the aforementioned 3-1 loss on Saturday that gave the Bruins a 3-1 series lead.
The American stopped all five shots he faced in that game while making his first playoff appearance of this spring. Woll went 1-2 with a .915 save percentage over four postseason contests in 2023.
Woll posted a 12-11-1 record with a .907 save percentage during the regular season. Samsonov got pulled after allowing all three goals on just 17 shots. The Russian is 1-3 with a mark of .883 in the four playoff games he's played this year