"We always tell you day to day, and that usually means 10 and we go from there," Toronto coach Mike Babcock said Saturday. "As fast as we can get him back and ready to play and healthy, that's what we'll do."
Matthews left with 1:06 remaining in the third period of a 4-3 shootout win against the New York Islanders at Air Canada Centre on Thursday. He scored with 3:29 remaining to tie the game 3-3.
Matthews led the Maple Leafs with 50 points (28 goals, 22 assists) in 53 games before he was injured. He missed 10 games earlier this season because of injuries. On Nov. 8, he sustained an upper-body injury and missed four games. On Dec. 9, Matthews collided with teammate Morgan Rielly in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins and missed the next six games with a concussion.
Matthews won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year last season with 69 points (40 goals, 29 assists) after the Maple Leafs selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.
Toronto (39-20-5) is in second place in the Atlantic Division, tied with the Boston Bruins, who have five games in hand, and four points behind the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning, who have two games in hand.
Babcock said Friday the injury wouldn't alter Toronto's plans ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline.
"It's called a trade. It's not like Christmas where someone drops off a gift," Babcock said. "You have to give something to get something. If we can make a deal that's going to help our team, we're going to make that deal. That could be short term and long term. We're not going to do anything foolish, I know that for sure."
