Rocket Richard pursuit on hold as Matthews misses second straight game

SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

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The Maple Leafs (optional) and Philadelphia Flyers skated at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.

Auston Matthewsskated for about 40 minutes on Tuesday morning and looked good. The 24-year-old centre felt good too, but Matthews will still sit out a second straight game. 

"They think, despite the fact he's feeling really good, that a little more time would benefit him even more so that's what we'll give him," said coach Sheldon Keefe. "We're not just resting Auston. I mean, he's got an injury that maybe he could play through, but that doesn't make sense."

Per Keefe, Matthews picked up the injury during Saturday's game in Ottawa. Like on Sunday night following the win over Ottawa, Keefe declined to say if it was an upper or lower body issue.

Well, Matthews hasn’t lost his scoring touch pic.twitter.com/X64IUiTtbo

So, Matthews will remain stuck on 58 goals, which is four ahead of Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl in the Rocket Richard Trophy race. 

"We're looking bigger picture here," Keefe said. "We got team accomplishments, individual accomplishments, all those kind of things in the regular season, and we're mindful of them, they are important in their own way, but the ultimate goal is for us to be ready to compete come playoff time. That's what it's all about."

Matthews also sat out the first three games of the year while recovering from off-season wrist surgery and also missed a pair of games in March due to a suspension. The Leafs have won five of six games without their leading scorer this season. 

"It shows the depth we have as a team and our ability to respond and accept that challenge," said captain John Tavares, who takes over as the No. 1 centre. "When you're missing someone like Papi with