BOSTON — As the Maple Leafs prepare to square off with the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night at TD Garden, Auston Matthews’ mind might wander a little further to the American southwest.
Scheduled for Tuesday afternoon in a courtroom in Scottsdale, Ariz., is a case management conference relating to the charge of disorderly conduct brought against Matthews in July.
The meeting between the judge and lawyers on both sides usually involves a discussion of the issues related to the case.
Matthews has not allowed the charge to impact his play on the ice, as his eight goals in the Leafs’ first 10 games are enough for second in the National Hockey League, behind only the Bruins’ David Pastrnak, who has nine goals in eight games, and the Edmonton Oilers’ James Neal, who has nine goals in nine games.
With 11 points, Matthews is tied for second in Leafs scoring with Morgan Rielly, one point behind leader Mitch Marner.
In the early morning hours of May 26 at his condo complex in Scottsdale, Matthews is alleged to have pulled down his pants, but not his underwear, in view of a female security guard. This after Matthews and some friends allegedly tried to get into the security guard’s car while she was in it.
There was embarrassment for Matthews and the Leafs when the charge came to light in September, as no one in Matthews’ camp had advised Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas of the charge.
While there was speculation the charge cost Matthews the Leafs captaincy, the club insisted after naming John Tavares captain on Oct. 2 that Tavares had always been the choice.
After arriving at their Boston hotel following a 4-3 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets at Scotiabank Arena on Monday night, the Leafs did not hold a morning skate on Tuesday. Coach Mike Babcock and a few players will be made available to media later Tuesday afternoon.
Michael Hutchinson is scheduled to start in goal for the Leafs (5-3-2), and is in search of his first win of the season after going 0-1-1 in his initial three appearances.
The Bruins (5-1-2) have not played since losing in overtime against the Leafs on Saturday in Toronto. They recalled forward Anders Bjork, who will make his season debut after recording eight points in seven games with Providence of the American Hockey League.
Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, originally drafted by the Leafs 21st overall in 2005, is slated to make his 500th start in the NHL, all with Boston.
The Leafs’ trading of Rask before he played a game with the club is one of the worst in team history.
Rask was sent to the Bruins in June 2006 for goaltender Andrew Raycroft, as John Ferguson Jr., the Leafs’ general manager at the time, figured Justin Pogge would be Toronto’s goalie of the future. Drafted in 2004, Pogge went on to play just seven games for the Leafs, all in 2008-09; Raycroft spent just two seasons with Toronto winning 39 games in 91 appearances.
Of the goaltenders selected by the Leafs since the first NHL draft in 1963, only two — Felix Potvin (635 games) and Ken Wregget (575 games) — went on to play more than Rask.
In fact, just one goalie in Leafs history has played more than 500 games with the team. That would be Turk Broda, who played in 629 games. Second was Johnny Bower, who played in 465 games with the Leafs.
There’s no way to know how Rask’s career would have unfolded had he remained in Toronto, but there’s pain in Leafs Nation whenever the Rask/Pogge topic is raised.
The Bruins didn’t rush Rask, letting him develop in two seasons with Providence before he became a regular in 2009-10.
Rask backed up Tim Thomas on the Bruins’ Stanley Cup team in 2011, eventually taking over as Boston’s No. 1 goalie in the lockout-shortened season of 2012-13.
Going into Tuesday night, Rask had been masterful in his career against the Leafs, compiling a record of 17-7-2 with a .925 save percentage in 29 regular-season games; in each of the Bruins’ three first-round series wins against Toronto dating to 2013, Rask has been in the Boston net.
“You don’t pay attention to how many games you’ve played total until you’re reaching some kind of milestone,” the 32-year-old Rask said this week. “Then you start looking back and think, ‘Holy crap, 500, and it has been 11 years or whatever.’
“Time flies, definitely. Just grateful I’ve been part of this team for so long, and still in it.”
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