His week began with a huge hit received which led to a tap on the shoulder from the Oilers' head medical therapist. There was T.D. Forss giving Matt the 'come with me speech' after a concussion spotter told the team Matt needed a break after taking a wallop in the game against the New York Rangers. Off he went, as explained by Matt, for about 15-20 minutes to take some baseline testing. He said there were about six to eight tests he underwent during that time and one of the tests was reading numbers in a specific format and in a certain order. He did the test and, in fact, he did faster after the hit (by a second) than he did during baseline testing at training camp.
Benning found that to be kind of funny and I would agree. What's not so funny is that the blueliner estimates he's had three concussions. One was relatively minor but two weren't. In fact, the one that did the most damage occurred when Matt was playing bantam hockey.
Well, he's not playing bantam hockey anymore. In fact, he's playing in the best league in the world and at the same time playing his best hockey. It's shown by a quick look at his numbers.
Like in the game against New Jersey where Matt struck for a goal and an assist. He has in his possession a wicked one-timer and he put that on display while scoring his fourth goal of the year. He also continues to slowly but surely bump up his plus/minus. He was a plus-two versus New Jersey and now stands at a team-high plus-14. I know it's a statistic that can be misleading either way if your a heavy minus or an inflated plus. However, as you sit and take the stat and out into context there is something to be said for being a plus player. There's also something to be said for being that much of a plus player. Beats the alternative of being a minus. That's one thing we're all certain of.
