The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without captain Auston Matthews for at least the next two games as the star center continues to nurse an upper-body injury, NHL.com reported Friday.

Matthews's outlook has been up in the air since he re-aggravated an upper-body injury during a 6-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 20. Head coach Craig Berube later revealed that the 27-year-old sharpshooter would be sidelined until after the holidays, leaving optimists hoping for a return as early as Friday.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have endured decades of frustration in the NHL. Arguably the most popular team in the NHL, the Maple Leafs have not won a Stanley Cup since 1967, the year before the league doubled in size from 6 to 12 teams.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will continue to play without Auston Matthews as the first-year captain remains sidelined with an upper-body injury, head coach Craig Berube confirmed to David Alter of The Hockey News.

The center has already missed two straight games because of an upper-body injury, and was ruled out through the weekend, which also includes a game against the Washington Capitals on Saturday. "He's doing better,

On Friday morning, star forward and captain Auston Matthews was not taking part in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ practice ahead of their matchup with the Detroit Red Wings. After the morning skate, Leafs head coach Craig Berube announced that Matthews would miss tonight’s game against Detroit as well as Saturday’s contest against the Washington Capitals.

Auston Matthews wasn't on the ice during the Toronto Maple Leafs' full morning skate inside Little Caesars Arena on Friday morning. The 27-year-old forward has missed Toronto's last two games — both losses to the New York Islanders and Winnipeg Jets — after re-aggravating his previous upper-body injury from earlier in the season.