Matthews suffered the ailment midway through the second period of Tuesday's game against the Bruins.
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews will reportedly miss "at least a week" with a lower-body injury, TSN's Chris Johnston reports.
Matthews suffered the injury during the second period of Toronto's 5-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. He was hit from behind by Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov before getting up and throwing a hit back at Zadorov.
Almost immediately after the incident, Matthews went to the Maple Leafs' room and didn't return to the game.
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Auston Matthews went to the locker room after taking a hit by Nikita Zadorov.
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said on Thursday morning that he hopes Matthews will be out for a week. "We'll just see," he added. "It's kind of like one of those things — he could come in a couple days from now feeling a lot better. Hopefully he's good to go, but we'll see.
"But it could be as long as a week."
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Craig Berube on how long he expects Auston Matthews to be out.
"You know, I'm hoping a week maybe, but maybe sooner. We'll just see. That's kind of like one of those things. He could come in a couple days from now and feeling a lot better, and hopefully he's good to go, but
Matthews dealt with an upper-body injury for the entirety of last season, even travelling to Munich, Germany, to receive treatment on the ailment last November. He had a career-low 33 goals in 67 games while dealing with the lingering injury.
The 28-year-old entered this season fully healthy and potted nine goals and 14 points in his first 17 games of the season. That would put him on pace for 43 goals if he were to play all 82 games, which now won't happen.
Even though Matthews could miss a few games, Toronto hasn't placed him on injured reserve, which would free up a roster spot. According to TSN's Darren Dreger, Easton Cowan, who was sent to the Toronto Marlies on Nov. 5, isn't expected to play for Toronto on Thursday despite the injuries.
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Matthews joins a list of Maple Leafs currently dealing with injuries. Anthony Stolarz suffered an upper-body injury in the same game against the Bruins, leaving Toronto's crease after the first period.
(Toronto called up Artur Akhtyamov on Thursday morning ahead of Toronto's matchup against the L.A. Kings.)
Scott Laughton was just placed on injured reserve retroactive to Saturday's game against the Bruins, where he was hit up high by Zadorov. Chris Tanev has been out since Nov. 1 after taking an awkward hit from Philadelphia Flyers forward Matvei Michkov and leaving on a stretcher.
"We played last year without (Matthews) for a while," Berube said. "Next man up mentality. Guys get a bigger bite, bigger role. Just need a better team game."
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