Leafs head coach provides update on Auston Matthews, who appeared to suffer an injury during Friday's practice
The Leafs were right back on the ice on Friday, following their 3-2 OT loss to the Devils on Thursday night. The Buds have a matchup with the Buffalo Sabres tomorrow night and rather than getting a day off between games, head coach Sheldon Keefe held a practice to help the team sharpen up to, hopefully, avoid another loss to the lowly Sabres - a team who they always seem to struggle against.
Unfortunately, during the practice, Leafs superstar forward Auston Matthews took a shot off the foot and was labouring. After trying to gut it out momentarily, Matthews left practice and would not return, causing more than a moderate amount of concern.
Following practice, Keefe provided an update on his star centerman, labelling him as "fine". Great news for the Buds, as they have already had a hard enough time finding the back of the net - especially at 5v5. I'm sure they'd rather go without a lengthy absence for Matthews.
Matthews has had his fair share of issues with injuries in his young career. He has played a full 82-game season just once in his career - his rookie season, back in 2016-17, though he did play in all of the Leafs' 70 games in a COVID-shortened 2019-20 season.
The 25-year-old was limited to just 73 games last year after his recovery from offseason wrist surgery bled into the start of the 2021-22 season. Here's hoping that the reigning league-MVP can avoid the IR this season and get back to doing what he does best; filling the net.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 18 | 170 ANSWERS Leafs head coach provides update on Auston Matthews, who appeared to suffer an injury during Friday's practice Should the Leafs protect their star players as much as possible during practice? | ||
| No, they need to push them during practice | 97 | 57.1 % |
| Yes, no use in injuring the top guys in practice | 73 | 42.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
