Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews out for 4 weeks due to shoulder injury

By The Canadian Press

Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews is expected to miss at least four weeks due to a shoulder injury.

The 21-year-old centre will be placed on injured reserve Monday, the team said on its official Twitter feed.

Matthews was injured early in the second period of Saturday’s 3-2 comeback victory over Winnipeg when Jets defenceman Jacob Trouba delivered a clean shoulder-to-shoulder check as Matthews tried to cut in front of the net.

Matthews immediately skated to the bench favouring his left side before heading down the tunnel to the Leafs’ locker-room with training staff.

Toronto head coach Mike Babcock said after the game that Matthews would miss Monday’s game against the visiting Calgary Flames.

Teammates told reporters after Sunday’s practice that Matthews was in “good spirits.”

Matthews, who earlier this month became just the third player in NHL history to record seven straight multi-point games to start a season, had been held off the scoresheet in three consecutive outings heading into the Winnipeg game.

Heading into Monday’s action, he still sat tied for second in the league with 10 goals and was also tied for sixth with 16 points following his red-hot start to the season.

Matthews missed 20 games during three separate injury hiatuses last season, including a 10-game stretch towards the end of the schedule with a separated right shoulder.

He still managed to finish second on the team in goals (34) and points (63) in 2017-18.

With Matthews on the shelf, No. 3 centre Nazem Kadri has been reunited with wingers Mitch Marner and Patrick Marleau _ a trio that had plenty of success in the second half of last season.

The newly formed line of John Tavares, Zach Hyman and Kasperi Kapanen rounds out Toronto’s top-six forward group heading into the game against the Flames.

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