Auston Matthews Exits Game After Taking Shot to the Face from Aleksander Barkov

The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the fight for their playoff lives against the Florida Panthers, down 3-2 in their second round series and facing a potential elimination.

Toronto received a considerable blow to their lineup when captain Auston Matthews was hurt after appearing to take the stick blade of Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov near his eye.

After appearing in obvious discomfort on the bench, he soon departed for the dressing room with a team trainer.

However, Leafs fans can breath a sigh of relief as he's returned to the game and seemingly is no worse for wear.

Ironically, Matthews was soon whistled for a high-sticking penalty after making contact with the face of Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad. The infraction didn't draw blood, so Matthews was assessed only a 2-minute minor.

He wasted no time in letting the on-ice officials know he wasn't happy with the call, especially after Barkov wasn't called for what should have been a high-sticking penalty.

Matthews, who is in his 1st year as captain of the Maple Leafs, has come under considerable scrutiny for having not scored a single goal in the series against the Panthers.

After Wednesday's brutal Game 5 loss, Matthews indicated that everyone on the Toronto roster, including himself, needed to do some serious soul searching ahead of the must-win Game 6.

So far in the postseason, Matthews has 10 points (2G, 8A) in 11 games played.