Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews ‘good to play’ after scary collision
The hockey world held its breath on Monday after Toronto Maple Leafs star forward Auston Matthews took a hit to the head.
After driving to the net against the Carolina Hurricanes, Matthews got tied up with Nino Niederreiter and fell to the ice. As he did, a Canes player was circling the back of the net catching Matthews with a knee to the head.
Auston Matthews went into concussion protocol after taking a hit to the back of the head pic.twitter.com/4shSJ3vNqL
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) February 8, 2022Similar to a play that seriously injured John Tavares, Matthews was down on the ice eventually getting off it under his own power.
On Wednesday, Matthews returned to practice with the Leafs. According to The Leafs Nation’s David Alter, Matthews said he would be good to go Thursday night when the Leafs kick off a Western Conference road swing taking on the Calgary Flames.
Matthews said he was a bit shaken up. Says he’s good to play tomorrow.
— David Alter (@dalter) February 9, 2022The news is huge for the Leafs. Matthews has been a stud this year for the team scoring 31 goals and 53 points placing him third and tied for sixth, respectively. On a per-game rate, Matthews is scoring at the second-best goals per game clip and the best points per-game clip of his six-year NHL career.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.