Maple Leafs’ Max Pacioretty out day-to-day with upper-body injury

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube announced Monday that left winger Max Pacioretty will be out of the lineup on a day-to-day basis due to an upper-body injury.

Facing the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, the veteran forward took a puck to the ear while serving as a net-front presence. Pacioretty appeared in discomfort from the play, but ultimately finished the night, seeing 10:19 in ice time in which he recorded three shots.

Skating in his first season with the Maple Leafs, Pacioretty has made 32 appearances in which he has collected five goals and seven assists for 12 points with a minus-two rating. Earlier this season, the 36-year-old native of New Canaan, Conn., missed a 10-game stretch through early December due to a lower-body ailment.

A veteran of 17 NHL seasons counting 934 career contests, Pacioretty has notched 335 goals and 345 assists for 680 career points in addition to 50 points through 78 postseason appearances.

Selected 22nd overall by the Canadiens in the 2007 NHL Draft, Pacioretty twice finished with 67-point seasons in Montreal – his career best – while last season as part of the Washington Capitals he recorded 23 points counting four goals and 19 assists through 47 outings. Pacioretty’s decorated career has also seen stops with the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes.

In early October, Pacioretty agreed to a one-year, $873,770 deal with the Maple Leafs as an unrestricted free agent.

Riding a two-game win streak, the Maple Leafs will look to push their win streak to three when they return to the ice Monday to take on the Atlantic Division rival Tampa Bay Lightning, without Pacioretty in the lineup. The Maple Leafs have taken both prior contests against the Lightning this season, including a 5-2 win in late October that witnessed Pacioretty score his second goal with Toronto.