Auston Matthews leaves ice in obvious pain after dirty crosscheck

The Leafs are making it very difficult to find positive things to say about them at the moment. After a complete no-show against the Coyotes on Monday they came out flat once again against the Dallas Stars on Thursday night. They managed just 5 shots on goal in the first and headed into the break lucky to only be trailing by one.

Late in the first, Stars captain Jamie Benn threw a cheap crosscheck into Matthews' ribs/oblique/hip. The reigning Rocket Richard trophy winner left the ice in obvious pain and didn't play another shift in the period. Luckily, he was able to return for the second.


One has to wonder, had Wayne Simmonds been in the lineup, would Benn be so brave? Some like to think that hockey has progressed beyond the need for a dedicated enforcer, but it's garbage like this from Benn that makes me think having a face puncher in the lineup wouldn't be such a bad idea. As a player, Simmonds is past his prime, but it's hard not to think that he would have a bigger impact on the game than someone like Pierre Engvall is right now. Should the Leafs hold off on trading the Scarborough native? Perhaps they should.


The silver lining here is that Matthews was right back out for the start of the second period and appears to be no worse for the wear. Likely just a stinger.