Injury update:

Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews will be out of the lineup for a minimum of three weeks due to a knee sprain suffered in Wednesday’s game vs. NYR.

— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) January 27, 2023

Uh oh. Auston Matthews it ruled out for 3 weeks with a high knee sprain he suffered during the game vs the New York Rangers, and cue the panic.

It's not the worst time for Auston Matthews to be injured because the Leafs play CBJ, CBJ, CHI, MON, and CHI after the All-Star break.

*checks the Leafs record vs. teams like Montreal and Arizona* pic.twitter.com/jmBjUhSawm

— Michael Amato (@amato_mike) January 27, 2023

Leaf fans will lose their minds because well, they are Leafs fans. In my opinion this is not a bad thing. A little extra rest for the best player on the team in the dog days of the season is a good thing.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning are on a crash course for a first round matchup no matter how the season plays out. The only thing that could change is who has home ice advantage.

For the Leafs to even have a remote chance against Tampa, Matthews has to be 100%.

Take a deep breath Leafs nation, everything will be fine. Until game 7 of the first round that is.