Atlantic Notes: Matthews, Bennett, Sabres

On By Littum

The Maple Leafs will be without a top center Austin Matthews tonight against the Islanders, reports Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link). Matthews is believed to have aggravated the upper-body injury that kept him out for several games last month, one that continues to linger. Despite playing at less than full health, Matthews has been quite productive when in the lineup, scoring 11 goals and 12 assists through 24 games while averaging over 20 minutes a night for the sixth season in a row. Johnston adds that Matthews is listed as questionable for Monday’s contest against Winnipeg, but with the break coming after that, it might make more sense for them to shut Matthews down for that game and give him more time to heal.

More from the Atlantic:

  • Panthers center Sam Bennett will not face any additional discipline for his hit last night against St. Louis winger Jake Neighborsnotes Andy Strickland of FanDuel Sports Network (Twitter link). Bennett returned to the lineup Friday after missing a game with the flu. He’s off to a solid start to his contract year with 13 goals and 14 assists in 32 games, setting himself up for a significant raise from his current $4.425MM AAV.
  • While some have suggested the Sabers were close to landing the Carolinas Martin Necas during the summer before the potential prey fell through, Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News suggests that was not the case and things never got to the point where Necas had to consider the switch. Instead, a source tells Harrington that Calgary’s Yegor Sharangovich may have been someone Buffalo tried to land over the summer. The 26-year-old had a breakout year last season with 31 goals and 59 points and earned a five-year, $28.75MM extension for his efforts, though things haven’t gone well for him this year with just six goals and two helpers. much. GM Kevyn Adams indicated recently that he believed he had made a significant offseason trade that fell through, and he declined to provide any details beyond that.