Toronto Maple Leafs superstar center Auston Matthews took the ice for the club's optional morning skate on Saturday. But when will he return to game action? The NHL Department of Player Safety is likely going to take a long look at an incident that took place during the second period of the Toronto Maple Leafs' game against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. As Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse was skating in the zone, he was clipped in the head by Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves. Nurse was left dazed and bloodied on the ice as Reaves went to the penalty box. After officials reviewed the incident, Reaves was given a five-minute match penalty and game misconduct. The Oilers announced later in the period that Nurse would not return to the game. Under rule 21.1 of the NHL rulebook [https://media.nhl.com/site/asset/public/ext/2024-25/2024-25Rules.pdf], A match penalty involves the suspension of a player for the balance of the game and the offender shall be ordered to the dressing room immediately. A match penalty shall be imposed on any player who deliberately attempts to injure or who deliberately injures an opponent in any manner. While match penalties aren't specifically required to be reviewed by the NHL's Department of Player Safety like game misconducts, there's not doubt that the DoPS will look into it. Although ejected from the game, Reaves continued his tradition of hyping up his teammates between periods, something he also does when he is scratched from the lineup. Reaves had one assist in 15 games heading into the contest. The 37-year-old has been suspended three times before for a total of six games in his NHL career. The Leafs signed Reaves to a three-year, $4.05 million in the summer of 2023. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported that although there was no update from the Oilers on Nurse's health following the hit, he was seen smiling and laughing with trainers. The Sportsnet cameras also caught Reaves trying to head over for a face-to-face, presumably to apologize for the hit.
