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TORONTO – Auston Matthews could not be found in Sunday's Maple Leafs training, and at least for now, we do not know how long the best player on the team will be away.
It was at the start of the second half of Saturday's game between the Leafs and the Winnipeg Jets that Matthews collided with Jacob Trouba and left the game favoring his left shoulder. Mike Babbad immediately dismissed Matthews from Monday's game against the visiting Calgary Flames. If Sunday was to announce good news about the recovery of Matthews, the Leafs were still not at the rendezvous.
"It's good, in the beginning, when you hurt yourself or hurt yourself, it's a bit like panic," Babbad said after training at the MasterCard Center. "And then you get up the next day and you you feel a lot better than you expected, and that's a good thing, until he's checked if [on Monday]It's just you and me talking.
John Tavares had a chance to talk to Matthews before Sunday's session and said that Matthews was feeling "better than expected" and that it "seemed quite positive", but the prospect of a lack of time is disappointing for the 21 years old player. .
"You are very proud to be sustainable, to stay healthy and to do what you need to do every day to play," Tavares said. "It's frustrating when things go … out of your control. You are still trying to find the reasons why it happened or how you can fix it [because] you work hard all summer, all camp of training [for regular season]. You're still a bit frustrated the next day, but he was certainly optimistic. "
Lack of time with injuries is no stranger to Matthews in his young career. He played 20 games last season with three different affections, including a separate right shoulder that left him 10 games in late February and early March. Babbad noted Saturday that it was not the same for Matthews. But as before, the Leafs are ready to go ahead without him.
Babbad said the decision to re-call another Toronto Marlies striker from the American Hockey League because insurance will only be taken after Matthews' test scores have been badessed . Trevor Moore obvious candidate for promotion – he was the Marlies' best player all season, tied for the second-most goals scored in the AHL (seven), while his team leads to points (10) across 10 games . But even without adding other options, the Leafs have solid depth in the center and on the wings to resist the stretch without Matthews' presence.
In practice, Babbad met Patrick Marleau and Mitch Marner on a line with Nazem Kadri, while By Lindholm left the wing and returned to the center between Andreas Johnsson and Connor Brown, Kasperi Kapanen shuttle to Tavares line with Zach Hyman. During power play exercises, Kapanen also jumped to the Leafs 'top-ranked unit, on Matthews' left flank.
"You're not going to replace a player like Matts and his caliber. The way he started this year and the impact he has made make him one of the best in the league, "said Tavares. "But we have a hell group here in terms of talents and skill, with a work ethic and determination, so it's a chance for guys to seize this opportunity and seize this opportunity as a group. "
This is also the case on the Leafs backend, where Martin Marincin was a substitute for Travis Dermott Toronto's last two games. Dermott was hit by a nasty virus last week and, although he will be available to play Monday, Marincin will remain in the third Leafs alongside Igor Ozhiganov, while Dermott will miss for the third time in a row.
After spending several days with "plenty of time in bed and restroom," Dermott said on Sunday that he was still regaining his fitness, but that he had not lost weight significant to resume.
Like Matthews, Dermott is eager to return to training. Only his return on track should be a little faster than it could be for Matthews.
"That's what you're excited about because each year it's competition and competition in a full 82-game season," said Tavares. "When you run out of time, you feel like you've lost the impact you wanted to have as a player and helped your team. Hope for a guy like Matts, it will not be too long [until he’s back]. "
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