It happened in an instant, and now it could cost Toronto everything.
Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews had just scored a power play goal to cut the Ducks’ lead to 3-2 when Anaheim defenseman Radko Gudas extended his leg directly into Matthews’ left knee. Matthews went down immediately, grabbing his knee in obvious pain, before being helped off the ice and down the tunnel.
The Leafs confirmed Friday that the damage is severe: a Grade 3 MCL tear and a bruised quadriceps muscle. Matthews will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season.
Gudas was given a major penalty and ejected during the game. The NHL later suspended him five games, the maximum penalty available when a hearing is conducted by phone. Matthews’ agent, Judd Moldaver, didn’t mince words, calling the ruling “very disappointing and shocking” given what he described as the obvious severity of the play.
Leafs coach Craig Berube was equally blunt about what should have happened next: “We should’ve had four guys in there doing something about it.”
The timing couldn’t be worse. Matthews finishes the year with 27 goals and 53 points in 60 games, and Toronto is now projected to miss the playoffs for the first time since he entered the league as the No. 1 pick in 2016. The Leafs currently sit third to last in the Eastern Conference.
A season that was already teetering has now officially fallen off the edge
