Matthews tests shoulder during Maple Leafs practice
Center gets physical, gives Toronto optimism about return
That wasn't the problem. Defenseman Roman Polak was.
This would be a telling moment for Matthews in his attempt to return to the lineup.
Matthews, 20, has been sidelined since being crunched almost simultaneously by two New York Islanders players, Adam Pelech and Cal Clutterbuck, late in the third period of Toronto's 4-3 shootout victory at home Feb. 22. The center confirmed Tuesday that he injured his shoulder on the play, as has been widely reported.
Now, here he was, wading into the territory of the hard-hitting Polak, with intentions of digging out the puck.
The red jersey worn by Matthews was supposed to represent no contact being permitted. In this instance, however, there would be some.
Seconds later, a collective sigh of relief could be heard throughout the practice rink. Not only had Matthews emerged with the puck, he seemed fine after colliding with the beefy Polak (6-foot-2, 235 pounds).
By no means did the play signify that Matthews is on the verge of coming back. On Monday, coach Mike Babcock, who said Matthews is day to day, ruled out Matthews for the game against the Dallas Stars at Air Canada Centre on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; SN, TVAS, FS-SW, NHL.TV), and he is not expected to play at the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. Toronto's next game after that is at home against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
The upside: Matthews was able to creep into some of the dirty, more physical areas of the ice without harm, giving the Toronto hierarchy some reason for optimism.
Matthews participated in his first full practice Monday under the watchful eye of Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan, who was on an observation perch in one corner of the rink. Long after most of his teammates had left the ice, Matthews was repeatedly taking shots at the empty net, testing out the strength of the shoulder.
All indications are that his rehab is trending up.
"Obviously he's coming every day," Babcock said after practice Tuesday. "I could tell by the amount of physical contact he was in today as opposed to yesterday. So he's going in the right direction, feeling good.
"He'll be over-ready before he gets in."
In the past week, Babcock has enjoyed using the term "over-ready," the implication being that the additional rest will have Matthews in prime condition for a lengthy run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which begin in four weeks.
To no one's surprise, Matthews said he did not see any such upside to the injury.
"No I don't really buy into that notion," Matthews said. "I'd rather play."
In his first comments since the injury, Matthews vented his frustration at watching his teammates from the stands. The Maple Leafs are 8-6-2 without Matthews this season, including 2-2-2 after he was injured against the Islanders. He missed four games from Nov. 8-16 with an upper-body injury and six games from Dec. 10-20 with a concussion.
"It's not fun when you can't be out there," Matthews said. "I see we went through a tough stretch there but [that was] a good (5-2) win for us against Pittsburgh on Saturday and hopefully we continue that tomorrow.
"I feel really good out there, just getting your timing, your hands and everything kind of back in mind. That's probably the toughest part. As far my legs and conditioning go, I've felt pretty good."
About the same time Matthews was speaking, Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy was in Raleigh, N.C., providing an injury update on center Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron fractured his right foot blocking a shot in a 4-3 loss at Toronto on Feb. 24, two days after Matthews was injured.
"[Bergeron] is not on the trip," Cassidy said. "We will rule him out this week. He's getting further evaluation this week and that's about it. When it comes to next week, we'll have a better idea how he's progressing."
With the Maple Leafs and Bruins seemingly on course to face each other in the Eastern Conference First Round, it will be intriguing to monitor the comeback attempts of Matthews and Bergeron, two key components to this potential series.
The Maple Leafs trail the Bruins by nine points for second in the Atlantic Division after Boston's 6-4 win at the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday and lead the fourth-place Florida Panthers by 12 points.
Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly said he watches the Bruins play whenever he can. Some pre-playoff scouting, perhaps?
"I think it's important to do that," Rielly said. "I wouldn't say it's like watching film, but it is kind of, you're kind of learning the opponent.
"Our coaches do a great job of making sure we're ready, but it's a case of being interested and you want to watch and see how everything plays out."
Matthews (50 points; 28 goals, 22 assists) is close to returning, likely in the next week. Bergeron (54 points; 27 goals, 27 assists) is at least a week away, if not longer, from practicing with the Bruins.
As such, it's advantage: Maple Leafs. At least for now.
