Ice Chips: Matthews a full participant at Leafs' practice
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Toronto Maple Leafs
Auston Matthews took part in his first practice as a full participant since he left the lineup due to an upper-body injury on Nov. 3.
Matthews told reporters on Saturday that the injury was one that he sustained during the preseason that had gotten better and then worse as the season progressed.
The 26-year-old superstar missed the team's last eight games while he re-evaluated the injury and travelled to Germany to get further treatment.
Matthews couldn't confirm that he would be available on Wednesday against the Florida Panthers but did not rule it out.
The 6-foot-3 centre has five goals and 11 points in 13 games this season.
Forward Matthew Knies participated in Maple Leafs' practice on Tuesday in a non-contact jersey.
Knies, 22, sustained an upper-body injury during the team's 3-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Nov. 20 after taking a high hit from Golden Knights defenceman Zach Whitecloud.
The 6-foot-3 winger missed Sunday's 3-2 win over the Utah Hockey Club and was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 20.
Knies has eight goals and 12 points in 20 games this season.
Dakota Mermis participated in his first full practice as a Maple Leaf on Tuesday.
Mermis, 30, joined the team on a one-year $775,000 deal in the off-season.
The 6-foot defenceman was placed on long-term injury reserve at the beginning of the season after undergoing jaw surgery.
Mermis had three goals and eight points in 47 games with the Minnesota Wild last season while averaging 14:05 of ice time.
The Maple Leafs used these lines during Tuesday's practice:
Vancouver Canucks
Forward Brock Boeser could return on Tuesday when the Canucks take on the Boston Bruins on Thursday.
Boeser took part in practice in a full-contact jersey on Monday for the first time since in his injury and head coach Rick Tocchet said they will see how his body responds before ruing on if he can play on Tuesday.
"He hasn't had any [setbacks] the last bunch of days anyways, but we ramped it up a bit today, so with these things you want to make sure," Tocchet told NHL.com on Monday. "See if he's ready to go [Tuesday], but he looked good."
Boeser was injured during the Canucks' 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Nov. 7 when Kings forward Tanner Jeannot delivered an illegal check to the head.
The 6-foot-1 winger missed the last seven games with an upper-body injury and Jeannot was suspended three games for his actions.
"[It] felt great," Boeser told reporters on Monday about being back at practice. "Anytime you get to go back out there with your teammates and be able to skate full contact, it's a nice little treat. It was m first full practice, so we'll see how the rest of the day goes and if all good, then hopefully I'm in [Tuesday].
Boeser had six goals and 11 points in 12 games before the injury. He also set career highs last season with 40 goals and 73 points in 81 games.
The 27-year-old winger is on the final season of a three-year, $19.95 million deal and has an annual cap hit of $6.65 million. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens used these lines during Tuesday's morning skate prior to their game against the Utah Hockey Club.
Caufield - Suzuki - Newhook
Anderson - Dvorak - Gallagher
Heineman - Evans - Roy
Slafkovsky - Dach - Armia
Guhle - Barron
Hutson - Matheson
Xhekaj - Savard