The forward left the game and did not return after the first intermission of the club's 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.

Max Pacioretty is officially day-to-day with a lower-body injury after the veteran Toronto Maple Leafs forward collided with Montreal Canadiens’ defenseman Mike Matheson late in the first period of the Leafs' 4-1 win on Saturday.

Pacioretty, who has twice recovered from severe Achilles injuries over the past couple of years, appeared to grab the back of his left thigh immediately following the collision and stayed on the bench, visibly in pain. As the horn sounded to end the first period, teammates Ryan Reaves and John Tavares assisted him to the locker room.

“Yeah, obviously, it’s not ideal. You just hope that the news is better than how he’s feeling in the moment,” Tavares said of Pacioretty after the game. “The way he was talking, I think, hopefully, optimistic about that. But, yeah, never easy to see.”

Pacioretty and Tavares have found strong chemistry this season. When the pair were place on a line with William Nylander, the trio seemed to hit their stride on October 26, when they combined to hand the Winnipeg Jets their only loss of the season so far, a 6-4 victory at Canada Life Centre.

While Pacioretty seemed hopeful, Tavares hinted at the potential impact of his absence. “Certainly for me, we’ve obviously found some chemistry together and had some success here early. So, we’re obviously going to miss him and what he’s been bringing to the table,” Tavares added.

Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube shared that it may take a day or so before the team has a clearer picture of the severity of Pacioretty’s injury. 

“We’ll have to see in a day or so what’s going on there with him,” Berube said. “But yeah, that’s really all I have for that.”

In Pacioretty’s absence, the Maple Leafs adjusted their lines, moving Bobby McMann up to share some of the minutes with Tavares and Nylander.

Pacioretty joined the Leafs on a one-year contract with a base salary of $873,770, along with games-played bonuses that include an additional $313,115 for reaching 10 games and another $313,115 for hitting 35 games. Having played 13 games this season, he already picked up the first bonus. He has two goals and four assists this season.

Pacioretty injury could help Maple Leafs in activating Auston Matthews

If Pacioretty's injury keeps him out for at least seven days, the Leafs could place him on injured reserve and activate star center Auston Matthews, who is currently on IR with an upper-body injury. The team had previously activated forward Connor Dewar, moving Matthews to IR in the process. Without Pacioretty’s roster spot, the Leafs faced a challenging decision: they would have likely needed to either waive a player or make a trade to clear room for Matthews.