The Toronto Maple Leafs are without star forward Auston Matthews for the second consecutive game when the Boston Bruins visit Thursday for Game 6 of the Eastern Conference first-round series.

Matthews, dealing with an illness, skated briefly on Tuesday and Thursday morning but was ruled out for those games. Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed Matthews’ status for Game 6 on Thursday morning.

Without Matthews, the Maple Leafs staved off elimination with a 2-1 overtime victory versus the Bruins in Game 5. Boston holds a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Matthews did not play in the third period of Toronto’s 3-1 loss in Game 4 on Saturday and Keefe said he was “removed by doctors.” He played just 14:16 and recorded a shot on goal and two hits before exiting for the Maple Leafs.

Matthews had a goal and two assists in Toronto’s 3-2 win in Game 2, accounting for all three of his points in the series.

He managed just four shots on goal over the next two games, both losses.

Matthews, 26, led the NHL with a career-high 69 goals and tallied 107 points in the 2023-24 season.

A 2021-22 Hart Trophy winner, Matthews has 649 points (368 goals, 281 assists) in 562 career games since being selected by the Maple Leafs with the top overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft.

The Bruins will be without forward Danton Heinen due to an undisclosed injury. Coach Jim Montgomery confirmed Thursday that Heinen is day-to-day.

Heinen, 28, recorded 36 points (17 goals, 19 assists) in 74 games during the regular season. His only point during the current series was an assist in Boston’s 4-2 win in Game 3.

–Field Level Media