Matthews (illness) held out of third period of Game 4 loss - ESPN

TORONTO — Star center Auston Matthews did not finish Saturday's Game 4 because of an illness, as the Toronto Maple Leafs fell 3-1 to the Boston Bruins.

Toronto now finds itself on the brink of elimination in its first-round playoff series, with a must-win Game 5 on Tuesday in Boston.

Coach Sheldon Keefe previously confirmed Matthews played through an illness in Game 3, and Matthews had been absent from multiple team sessions while recovering. It was more of the same in Game 4 when Matthews logged 14:16 in ice time before not returning after the second intermission.

«It is all related to the illness he's dealing with,» Keefe said, responding to a reporter's question on why Matthews didn't return for the third period. «The doctors pulled him.»

Matthews was Toronto's hero in Game 2, scoring the game-winning goal and notching two assists to lift the Maple Leafs to a 3-2 victory — their only one so far against Boston.

It was the Bruins again taking it to Toronto early on Saturday. Boston jumped out to a 1-0 lead off James van Riemsdyk's opening goal to enter the second period ahead 1-0 and they quickly added to their lead with a power-play goal from Brad Marchand. David Pastrnak collected another with 41 second left in the middle frame to afford Boston a 3-0 advantage going into the third.

Toronto has now lost six straight playoff games at home, a streak dating back to the 1970s, and have been outscored 21-11 in that stretch of home contests. The Leafs have also scored three or fewer goals in 11 consecutive postseason tilts to date.

Emotions were visibly boiling over for Toronto on the bench in Saturday's loss, with cameras capturing Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander — back in the lineup after missing the series'