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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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TORONTO – Auston Matthews was nowhere to be found at Maple Leafs’ practice on Sunday, and at least for now there’s no telling how long the team’s top centreman will be absent.

It was early in the second period of Saturday’s contest between the Leafs and Winnipeg Jets that Matthews collided with Jacob Trouba and left the game favouring his left shoulder. Mike Babcock immediately ruled Matthews out for Monday’s tilt against the visiting Calgary Flames, and while Sunday did bring potential for good news on Matthews’ recovery, the Leafs are still in the dark on when he might return to the ice.

“He’s good. Initially when you first get hurt or banged up, it’s like panic mode for a little bit,” said Babcock after practice at MasterCard Centre. “And then you get up the next day and you feel a lot better than you expected and it’s a good thing. Until he’s checked out though [on Monday], this is just you and me talking.”

John Tavares had a chance to speak with Matthews before Sunday’s session, and echoed that Matthews was feeling “better than expected” and that it “seems all pretty positive,” but the prospect of missing time of any length is disappointing for the 21-year-old.

“You take a lot of pride in being durable and staying healthy and doing what you have to do on a daily basis to play,” said Tavares. “It’s frustrating when things happen…out of your control. You’re always trying to find reasons why it happened or how you can fix it [because] you work hard all summer, all training camp [for regular season]. You’re always a little frustrated the next day, but he was certainly upbeat.”

Missing time with injuries isn’t foreign to Matthews in his young career. He sat out 20 games last season with three different ailments, including a separated right shoulder that sidelined him for 10 games in late February and early March. Babcock noted on Saturday it’s not the same shoulder affecting Matthews this time around. But as before, the Leafs are prepared to forge ahead without him.

Babcock said the decision on whether to re-call another forward from the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies as insurance won’t be made until after the results of Matthews’ tests are assessed. Trevor Moore would be an obvious candidate for promotion  – he’s been the Marlies' best player all season, tied for the second-most goals scored in the AHL (seven) while leads his team in points (10) through 10 games. But even without adding in other options, the Leafs have solid depth down the middle and on the wing to endure a stretch without Matthews’ presence.

At practice, Babcock re-united Patrick Marleau and Mitch Marner on a line with Nazem Kadri, while Par Lindholm moved off the wing and back to centre between Andreas Johnsson and Connor Brown, Kasperi Kapanen shuttled to the Tavares’ line with Zach Hyman. During power play drills, Kapanen also jumped onto the Leafs’ top unit in Matthews’ left flank spot.

“You’re not going to replace a player like Matts and his calibre. The way he’s started this year and the impact he’s made, he’s one of the best in the league,” said Tavares. “But we’ve got a hell of a group in here talent wise and skill wise with work ethic and determination, so it’s a chance for guys to step up and fill that opportunity as a group.”

That’s been the case on the Leafs’ backend too, where Martin Marincin has been filling in for Travis Dermott in Toronto’s last two games. Dermott was felled by a nasty virus last week, and while he will be available to play on Monday, Marincin will remain on the Leafs’ third pairing next to Igor Ozhiganov while Dermott misses a third consecutive contest. 

After enduring a couple days with “lots of bed time and bathroom time,” Dermott said on Sunday he’s still working his way back into game shape, but hadn’t lost any significant weight he’d have to put back on.

Like Matthews, Dermott is just eager to get back in the lineup. Only his return track projects to be a little quicker than what might lie ahead for Matthews.

“This is what you get excited for every year is the competition, and competing over the course of a full 82 game season,” said Tavares. “When you miss time you feel like there’s a lot of your game where you’ve missed out on the impact you wanted to make as the player you want to be and help your team. But hopefully for a guy like Matts, it won’t be too long [until he’s back].”​