Auston Matthews is set to return to the Maple Leafs lineup Saturday night against the Boston Bruins after missing the last six games with an undisclosed injury.
“It’s exciting,” Matthews said Saturday morning. “It’s never fun watching.”
The former Hart Trophy winner has missed a total of 15 games this season with injury. He’s scored 11 goals and 23 points in 24 games. In November, while Matthews was previously out of the lineup, he left the Leafs to see a specialist in Germany for his injury.
Matthews last played on Dec. 20 against the Buffalo Sabres. He sustained a cross check from Sabres defenceman Dennis Gilbert during the game that aggravated his injury. The Leafs went 3-3 in Matthews’ latest absence.
The Maple Leafs have a back-to-back this weekend with a game on Sunday night against the Philadelphia Flyers. Matthews confirmed he would play in both games.
“You’re always managing (injuries) throughout the year. You’re just trying to stay on top of it,” Matthews said.
Matthews moved well and looked spry enough getting his shot off in Saturday’s morning skate. He skated on a line with Mitch Marner and Matthew Knies and took reps on the Leafs’ first power-play unit.
“He’s the type of guy you want on the ice as much as you can,” Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “But at the same time, my job is to manage that. There’s been communication with him and how he’s feeling, so we’ll try to limit (aggravating the injury) as best we can.”
Throughout the season, Matthews has not always moved as quickly and looked as dominant as he has in the past. It became clearer and clearer that he was dealing with a lingering injury that would not immediately heal.
On Jan. 1, Matthews said he felt “discomfort” and “pain” as he has tried to play through his injury.
The injury nagged him since training camp. During his Jan. 1 media availability, Matthews said he was not sure if he would be able to move past the injury this season.
“I don’t know. I hope so,” Matthews said. “That’s obviously the goal. It’s tricky with these things sometimes. It’s a physical sport, it’s a contact sport, so things happen out there sometimes that are out of your control. So I’m just trying to manage it as best as I can, and we can, and you just go from there.”
Yet Matthews has inched closer and closer to a return this past week. Matthews suggested that he’s moving without some of the pain that previously held him back.
“The last couple skates I’ve had I’ve felt good,” Matthews said.
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(Photo: Charles LeClaire / USA Today)
