Maple Leafs Face Immediate Concern as Veteran Forward Suffers Apparent Injury
Maple Leafs forward Max Pacioretty did not participate in Monday's skate ahead of the game against Tampa Bay as worries start to mount.
Toronto ended up coming away with a 7-3 victory against Montreal on Saturday as the team got everyone involved and found new life after falling behind 3-0, and perhaps had some extra motivation behind it.
But during the game, one thing seemingly went unnoticed and that was the fact Max Pacioretty took a puck to the head.
While he seemed to avoid any serious injury and remained in the game, something must clearly be bothering him as the team announced the veteran forward would not be taking part in the Leafs practice ahead of their game versus Tampa Bay.
Max Pacioretty's Injury Woes A Concern For Healthy Maple Leafs
It's concerning if Pacioretty is out for the Leafs for any period of time, and it would make it a hat-trick of injuries that have kept the veteran out after he's tried his best to revive his career.
The first time around, he ended up leaving a game versus Columbus but avoided any disaster and was back in a couple games. However, against Montreal (who seemed to have put a curse on their former captain) he got tangled up in a seemingly innocent play and ended up missing several weeks.
This latest injury with a puck to the head, which has also been the cause of Jake McCabe to miss some time as well this season, is a new type of issue for Pacioretty, and that's the potential for a concussion.
With the team finally getting over the majority of their injury woes, and a huge step forward in terms of Anthony Stolarz returning, this latest setback just throws another wrench into Toronto's playoff plans.
Signed to add some more offensive depth to the team, Pacioretty has decided to add a bit less scoring and a lot more hitting as the veteran is moving around the ice and finding every chance he can to lay in a bone-crunching hit.
This season, Pacioretty has five goals, seven assists, and 89 hits in 32 games for the Maple Leafs.
