Is Auston Matthews playing tonight against Seattle Kraken? | Feb. 26, 2023 | 2022-23 NHL season

Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs will be playing the Seattle Kraken in a 7 PM ET kickoff game at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA tonight.

The Leafs won their last match against the Minnesota Wild in a low-scoring 2-1 game. Brandon Duhaime of the Wild and David Kampf of the Leafs scored the two goals in regulation time. William Nylander scored the winning goal for the Leafs in overtime to give them their 36th victory of the season.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are currently second in the Atlantic Division with a 36-15-8 record. They are just two points above the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have 78 points. Both teams have matches tonight and will decide who gets the No. 2 spot. If the Leafs lose and the Bolts win, they will take the No. 2 spot if their goal difference is more than five.

This will be the second meeting this season between the two teams. Kraken emerged victorious in their last meeting with a 5-1 win. The Kraken are on a two-game losing streak and are currently fourth in the Western Conference Pacific Division.

Auston Matthews's NHL career

Auston Matthews was the first overall pick in the 2016 NHL entry draft. He was picked by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Matthews won the Calder Memorial Trophy for being Rookie of the Year in the 2016-17 season. He had 69 points from 40 goals and 29 assists in 82 games played.

On Feb. 5, 2019, Matthews was offered a new five-year contract with Toronto for $58.17 million, with an annual salary of $11.634 million.

He was the leading goal scorer in the league for two consecutive seasons (2020-2021 and 2021-2022) and received the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy for his achievements. He is the reigning MVP and was awarded the Ted Lindsay Award and also the Hart Memorial Trophy in the 2021-22 season.

The 25-year-old has played in 459 career games and has 519 points from 285 goals and 229 assists.

In the 2022-23 NHL season, Matthews has 57 points from 26 goals and 31 assists.

Matthews sustained a knee injury in late January and missed 3-4 weeks of games for the Maple Leafs but has since returned. The Leafs will be looking towards Auston Matthews to bring out his 2021-22 season form and help them clinch the Stanley Cup this season.