Matthews still ill with Leafs on brink of elimination
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Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporter
TORONTO — Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews is still feeling the effects of an illness that forced him from the third period of Toronto’s 3-1 loss in Game 4 of Toronto’s first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Bruins on Saturday.
Matthews had played through the sickness in Game 3 — which the Leafs lost 4-2 — and battled it again in Game 4 until Toronto’s team doctors pulled him out of action for the final frame. The Leafs now face elimination from the postseason in Game 5 on Tuesday, and there’s no guarantee Matthews will be well enough to dress for the crucial contest.
“We thought the last couple of days would help us,” coach Sheldon Keefe said after Toronto’s team meeting Sunday. “But, for whatever reason, it’s not one of those run-of-the-mill type of illnesses that sort of comes and goes. This one has lingered, and the effects have lingered and gotten worse when he’s got on the ice and is asserting himself.”
Keefe said he hoped the extra day of recovery Sunday would help Matthews feel stronger on the ice by Tuesday. The Leafs already face an uphill battle to stay alive in the playoffs after an emotional defeat Saturday that included a bench argument gone viral between Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander.
The Leafs were trailing 3-0 in the second period when cameras captured the team’s three top forwards exchanging heated words, right before they were booed off the ice at intermission by the hometown crowd.
On the outside, that scene looked like a sign of turmoil, but Keefe saw passion behind his players’ words as a positive signal.
“In the past, quite honestly, that wouldn’t have happened, guys wouldn’t have talked it out, wouldn’t have, if you want to call it ‘arguing’ it out,” he said. “That wouldn’t have happened. I look at that as progress and those guys care. I don’t look at it as frustration, I look at them being upset and pissed off that that they didn’t deliver for the team, and they’re pushing and challenging each other to get it right.”
It has been a difficult postseason in some fashion for all three skaters. Matthews was the standout in Game 2, tallying three points and the game winner to lift Toronto to its only playoff victory so far. But that’s all Matthews has put on the score sheet through four games. Marner has just two points to his credit, and Nylander only suited up for his first game Saturday after missing the start of these playoffs with an undisclosed injury.
Keefe said it’s not the first time there’s been verbal sparring among the Leafs’ core players, and he felt it did lead to tangible results Saturday.
“The better thing for me is that the remainder of the game, in the next opportunities that we had, they’re working together, they’re talking about it, they’re making the plan,” Keefe said. “These guys have been together a long time, and they are pushing and challenging each other to get it right and they know how important they are to the team and when they’re not delivering, they recognize it.”
It’s not just those three players who have to be better in Game 5. Toronto has managed just seven playoff goals as a team, and their putrid power play is a momentum-sucking 1-for-14. Boston has offered Toronto opportunities to cash in with the extra man, including less than four minutes into Game 4 with a bench minor for too many men, but the Leafs have done anything but take advantage.
The lack of special teams success — despite changes to personnel — is what Keefe said irked him the most and where he is certain the Leafs can improve their prospects for a victory Tuesday.
“II there’s one area that really stood out [in Game 4], it’s our power play had a chance to really get us going in the game and in that first period and really failed to do so,” he said. “That was probably the most disappointing part of the game, and that the urgency level wasn’t higher at that particular time. So that’s a big one. We made changes to the top power play unit, and it got worse, not better. Today is about diagnosing some of the things that have been problematic and looking at some of the things that have gone well for us in this series and how we continue to embrace those and build upon them.
Keefe pointed out the Leafs’ lone victory in the series included a power play goal and critical penalty kill, showcasing why those special teams battles could tell the tale for Toronto again in Game 5. Focusing on what the Leafs can control is the message Keefe said he’s tried to send and that includes having Toronto maintain the right mindset before heading back to Boston.
“It’s less about recognizing that you’re facing elimination,” he said, “and look at it more so as the opportunity to go in on the road, give ourselves some life in this series and bring it back home for a chance to get it right [in Game 6].”
It’s 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby day in Atlanta!
Some of the most dynamic home run hitters in baseball will be taking aim at the Truist Park stands on Monday (8 p.m. ET on ESPN) in one of the most anticipated events of the summer.
While the prospect of a back-to-back champion is out of the picture — 2024 winner Teoscar Hernandez is not a part of this year’s field — a number of exciting stars will be taking the field, including Atlanta’s own Matt Olson, who replaced Ronald Acuna Jr. just three days before the event. Will Olson make a run in front of his home crowd? Will Cal Raleigh show off the power that led to 38 home runs in the first half? Or will one of the younger participants take the title?
We have your one-stop shop for everything Derby related, from predictions to live updates once we get underway to analysis and takeaways at the night’s end.
MLB Home Run Derby field
Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners (38 home runs in 2025)
James Wood, Washington Nationals (24)
Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays (23)
Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins (21)
Brent Rooker, Athletics (20)
Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves (17)
Jazz Chisholm Jr., New York Yankees (17)
Oneil Cruz, Pittsburgh Pirates (16)
Live updates
Who is going to win the Derby and who will be the runner-up?
Jeff Passan: Raleigh. His swing is perfect for the Derby: He leads MLB this season in both pull percentage and fly ball percentage, so it’s not as if he needs to recalibrate it to succeed. He has also become a prolific hitter from the right side this season — 16 home runs in 102 at-bats — and his ability to switch between right- and left-handed pitching offers a potential advantage. No switch-hitter (or catcher for that matter) has won a Home Run Derby. The Big Dumper is primed to be the first, beating Buxton in the finals.
Alden Gonzalez: Cruz. He might be wildly inconsistent at this point in his career, but he is perfect for the Derby — young enough to possess the stamina required for a taxing event that could become exhausting in the Atlanta heat; left-handed, in a ballpark where the ball carries out better to right field; and, most importantly, capable of hitting balls at incomprehensible velocities. Raleigh will put on a good show from both sides of the plate but will come in second.
Buster Olney: Olson. He is effectively pinch-hitting for Acuna, and because he received word in the past 72 hours of his participation, he hasn’t had the practice rounds that the other competitors have been going through. But he’s the only person in this group who has done the Derby before, which means he has experienced the accelerated pace, adrenaline and push of the crowd.
His pitcher, Eddie Perez, knows something about performing in a full stadium in Atlanta. And, as Olson acknowledged in a conversation Sunday, the park generally favors left-handed hitters because of the larger distances that right-handed hitters must cover in left field.
Jesse Rogers: Olson. Home-field advantage will mean something this year as hitting in 90-plus degree heat and humidity will be an extra challenge in Atlanta. Olson understands that and can pace himself accordingly. Plus, he was a late addition. He has got nothing to lose. He’ll outlast the young bucks in the field. And I’m not putting Raleigh any lower than second — his first half screams that he’ll be in the finals against Olson.
Jorge Castillo: Wood. His mammoth power isn’t disputed — he can jack baseballs to all fields. But the slight defect in his power package is that he doesn’t hit the ball in the air nearly as often as a typical slugger. Wood ranks 126th out of 155 qualified hitters across the majors in fly ball percentage. And he still has swatted 24 home runs this season. So, in an event where he’s going to do everything he can to lift baseballs, hitting fly balls won’t be an issue, and Wood is going to show off that gigantic power en route to a victory over Cruz in the finals.
Who will hit the longest home run of the night — and how far?
Passan: Cruz hits the ball harder than anyone in baseball history. He’s the choice here, at 493 feet.
Gonzalez: If you exclude the Coors Field version, there have been just six Statcast-era Derby home runs that have traveled 497-plus feet. They were compiled by two men: Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. James Wood — all 6-foot-7, 234 pounds of him — will become the third.
Olney: James Wood has the easy Stanton- and Judge-type power, and he will clear the Chophouse with the longest homer. Let’s say 497 feet.
Rogers: Hopefully he doesn’t injure himself doing it, but Buxton will break out his massive strength and crush a ball at least 505 feet. I don’t see him advancing far in the event, but for one swing, he’ll own the night.
Castillo: Cruz hits baseballs hard and far. He’ll crush a few bombs, and one will reach an even 500 feet.
Who is the one slugger fans will know much better after the Derby?
Passan: Buxton capped his first half with a cycle on Saturday, and he’ll carry that into the Derby, where he will remind the world why he was baseball’s No. 1 prospect in 2015. Buxton’s talent has never been in question, just his health. And with his body feeling right, he has the opportunity to put on a show fans won’t soon forget.
Olney: Caminero isn’t a big name and wasn’t a high-end prospect like Wood was earlier in his career. Just 3½ years ago, Caminero was dealt to the Rays by the Cleveland Guardians in a relatively minor November trade for pitcher Tobias Myers. But since then, he has refined his ability to cover inside pitches and is blossoming this year into a player with ridiculous power. He won’t win the Derby, but he’ll open some eyes.
What’s the one moment we’ll all be talking about long after this Derby ends?
Gonzalez: The incredible distances and velocities that will be reached, particularly by Wood, Cruz, Caminero, Raleigh and Buxton. The hot, humid weather at Truist Park will only aid the mind-blowing power that will be on display Monday night.
Rogers: The exhaustion on the hitter’s faces, swinging for home run after home run in the heat and humidity of Hot-lanta!
Castillo: Cruz’s 500-foot blast and a bunch of other lasers he hits in the first two rounds before running out of gas in the finals.
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