Coach Keefe provides an update on Matthews following last night's injury

In case you missed it last night, Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews went down with an apparent head injury in his team's OT win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Matthews was engaged in a positional battle with 'Canes forward Nino Niederreiter when he fell to the ice and was inadvertently kneed in the back of the head by a player skating by the play. He laid down on the ice until he was assessed by medical staff and then left the game and did not return.

Here's the sequence in question:

Following the game Leafs' head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed that Matthews will miss today's practice but he also hinted that Matthews could be out of the team's lineup a lot longer.

We’ll give it some time here to settle down and assess him properly. I had him taking a scheduled day off tomorrow anyway coming back from the All-Star Game. That will give even more time for him to get assessed and make a determination from there.

- Sheldon Keefe

After a good night's rest, Matthews appears to be doing much better now.

Keefe updated the media following his team's practice this morning and characterized Matthews' as "feeling pretty good". 

“There was a pretty good sense by the time he left (last night) that it wasn’t necessarily going to be a head injury,” Keefe added. “But with the nature of the hit that he took, you’re going to continue to be cautious to make sure he’s feeling good before he gets back on the ice.”

“It’s a really good sign,” Keefe said. “As far as his status in terms of practicing tomorrow, we’ll see how he comes in tomorrow but today was a very good day.”

Obviously this is great news for Matthews and the Leafs and it contradicts earlier reports that Matthews may be out a week or longer due to a suspected concussion. The 24 year old superstar has 31 goals and 53 points in just 40 games this season. His goal last night earned him the distinction of having 30+ goals in each of his first six NHL seasons.