Matthews was injured when he collided with Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly with 2:50 remaining in the third period against the Penguins. Matthews returned to play two more shifts but said he was not feeling well later in the night and the next day. Matthews confirmed Friday that he did sustain a concussion in the collision.
"I think just later on after Pittsburgh, just colliding with Morgan and then later on that night, the next day, I wasn't feeling very well," Matthews said.
When asked what he was feeling, Matthews said, "Just normal concussion symptoms, I guess. Don't need to go any farther than that."
Matthews said he has been going through the NHL concussion protocol. He skated on his own the past four days prior to practicing Friday, when he centered left wing Zach Hyman and right wing William Nylander.
"Just like last time, it's nice to get back out there with the whole team and get skating again," said Matthews, who missed four games from Nov. 8-16 because of an upper-body injury. "Obviously with the high pace of practice, it's fun being out there with more people than just myself."
Matthews leads the Maple Leafs with 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) in 26 games. Toronto is 6-4-0 in the 10 games he's been out this season.
"It's very frustrating," he said. "You never like missing games and two back-to-back injuries like that where you miss time, it [stinks]. Obviously the main thing is to be healthy. That's my main concern, and obviously the training staff and everybody else's, so like I said, I feel good and it feels good to get back on the ice."
