Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews leaves practice early due to injury

While the Toronto Maple Leafs head to Ottawa to take on the Senators tonight, those not in the lineup stayed back for a practice at the team's training facility in Etobicoke.

Among those hitting the ice for practice was star forward Auston Matthews, who had a goal and five shots in Toronto's 6-5 overtime loss to the Senators at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday night.

However, Auston Matthews' time on the ice didn't last very long as Mark Masters of TSN reported that the 27-year-old left practice early, but it was unclear at the time why he did, adding that there was no obvious issue that the media could see.

After practice, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube met with the media where he was why Matthews left practice early. Berube told reporters that Matthews is dealing with what he called an 'upper body thing', but it isn't believed to be serious.

It's unclear at this time if Auston Matthews will be able to play in the team's next preseason game after tonight, which is Thursday as they host the Montreal Canadiens, but it wouldn't be surprising if he's not in the lineup just as a precaution. The last thing the Maple Leafs need is for the star forward to get hurt further in a preseason game that doesn't count in the standings.

It's going to be a big season for Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Last month, he was named as their new captain, replacing John Tavares and with that comes a lot more responsibility and pressure with being in one of the biggest markets in all of hockey. Matthews will also be looking to reach that elusive 70-goal mark this season after finishing last year with 69 in 81 regular season games.