TOR will know more on full extent of Auston Matthews injury after an MRI today. It’s believed to be a shoulder injury.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 23, 2018
Auston Matthews made an impact in the game last night by scoring the goal that tied the game. Not long after, he was the receiver of a double-impact.
Auston Matthews heads to the room after this double hit from Adam Pelech and Cal Clutterbuck. Suspicion is that it's a shoulder ailment. pic.twitter.com/VWtIlQUUhj
— Jeff Veillette (@JeffVeillette) February 23, 2018
You can see the goal and the hit in the condensed game beginning at the six-minute mark:
You see Matthews leaving the ice in the video above, and he’s obviously got a shoulder injury. With practice set to begin in twenty minutes today, we’ll update with whatever official details get added, which won’t be much.
Edited to add the practice lines:
#Leafs lines in small ice 3-on-3 scrimmage:
— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) February 23, 2018
Marleau-Kadri-Marner
Hyman-Nylander-Brown
van Riemsdyk-Bozak-Kapanen
Komarov-Moore-Leivo
Martin
Now, everyone, remember this is Troll Master Flash Mike Babcock here, he could play any configuration that is nothing like this against Boston tomorrow.
Edited to add the official word:
Auston Matthews probably out “for a bit” according to Mike Babcock. Day to day.
— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) February 23, 2018
Other reporters said the Leafs will have more information tomorrow.
So to remind everyone, the 23-man roster limit remains in place until after the trade deadline, and the Leafs will have left for Tampa before the deadline on Monday. We can assume they will travel Sunday.
This means if they wish to call up a player to have available (or acquire an extra via trade) they may place Matthews on IR to make space for a day, but otherwise, there’s no need to go that route even if he will be out for at least a week.