Marton Monus/Reuters via Imagn Images
Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews flew into Miami, Florida with the rest of Team U.S.A. on Monday. When the team got to Miami, they partied it up in the club and took pictures with a ton of fans. The partying however is not done yet for this team.
On Tuesday night, the entire team will be in Washington, D.C. celebrating at the White House during the State of the Union. This will be a busy day for all of the players and coaches on this team. After Tuesday night, the NHL will resume on Wednesday night.
Matthews will then have to fly back from D.C. to Tampa Bay, Florida because the Maple Leafs will face the Tampa Bay Lightning on the road on Wednesday night. Will he be available to play for Toronto on Wednesday or not?
NHL Analyst Reveals Update on Toronto Maple Leafs Star Auston Matthews
Chris Johnston of TSN reported the latest update on Tuesday morning about the availability of Matthews' status for Wednesday night against Tampa Bay. He said, "As Team USA celebrates its gold medal today in Washington, the status of players involved remains under discussion as it pertains to their NHL availability. That includes Auston Matthews, who will join the #leafs in Tampa before Wednesday's game. Not yet clear if he'll play."
It will be interesting to see if he will suit up for the Maple Leafs on Wednesday night or night. If he is not injured, he probably should try and give it a go. In 51 games played this season with Toronto, he has scored 26 goals and has recorded 22 assists. His plus/minus rating is 4.
Matthews was the team captain for Team U.S.A. Once the celebration is over, he will have to go back to reality and try and get the Leafs back into the playoff chase. If the season ended at this moment, Toronto would not be in the postseason, and they haven't won the Stanley Cup since the 1967 postseason.