Auston Matthews' fate has been sealed after taking an elbow to the head against Latvia
Photo credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews is currently in Milan for the Winter Olympics, and things got a bit dicey for him against Team Latvia on Thursday.
Auston Matthews and Team USA made their Olympic debut on Thursday against Team Latvia, and in the end, the Americans came out on top with a 5-1 win.
Overall, it was a close game until the second period, when Team USA went off for an offensive explosion that led to some big goals by Brock Nelson.
In the first period, the Americans had a bit of a panic moment as their captain, Matthews, took an elbow to the head that left him on the bench for a few shifts.
Auston Matthews storms back against Latvia
Matthews was able to return to the game, but there were questions about his mental acuity and whether or not he would be able to keep up with the game.
Those questions were answered in the third period, when Matthews scored a big goal on the power play. Clearly, he was feeling just fine.
After the game, Matthews spoke about his big goal and what it feels like playing at the Olympics, and representing his country on the biggest stage.
It's pretty cool. This is just a special opportunity & still feels pretty surreal to be here
Based on everything we saw yesterday, it is clear that Matthews is good and ready to go for the team's game on Saturday, against Denmark.
Denmark isn't exactly a powerhouse in the tournament. They lost to Germany 3-1 in their first game, and it would not be surprising to see them go 0-3 in the tournament.
Latvia gave it their all, but with the current alignment, it is clear that Team USA is on track to win their group by a significant margin.
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