Matthews back at practice, but return to Leafs lineup may have to wait

The Maple Leafs practiced at Ford Performance Centre in Toronto on Tuesday.

---

Auston Matthews practiced with the Leafs on Tuesday for the first time since an upper-body injury forced him from the lineup. However, his return to game action may have to wait.

"I think the individual skates are much different than a team practice," the star centre said. "I felt really good but, you know, might need maybe one or two [more] to really get my legs and lungs back under me. But, we'll just kind of see how I respond today and see what happens tomorrow."

The Leafs open a two-game road trip on Wednesday against the Florida Panthers.

Matthews last suited up in a game on Nov. 3.

Matthews stayed off the ice for almost two weeks while rehabbing the undisclosed injury, which first flared up during training camp. He also spent five days in Germany getting treatment from a doctor he worked with in the past.

"The tricky part is practice," said coach Craig Berube. "He looked fine and he felt fine, but not having a lot of practice time, it's a little concerning."

Matthews has missed eight straight games making this his longest injury absence since early in the 2018-19 campaign.

What's the biggest challenge getting back up to speed?

"A little bit of everything," the 27-year-old said. "Conditioning, timing [and] getting back in that kind of competitive atmosphere where everything's super reactive. I think it's just important to get as much repetitions in that kind of setting as possible to feel as game ready as you can."

The Leafs have a two-day break between the Panthers game and a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.

"He looked really good and got through practice, no problem," said Berube. "So, a lot of good signs pointing in the right direction."

The ball is very much in Matthews' court.

"When a player comes to me and says he's ready to go, then he's ready to go," Berube said.

—

Matthews took his usual spot in the centre of the stretch circle after practice. But during the workout he wasn't back in his usual spot beside Mitch Marner.

For now, Berube is keeping Marner with John Tavares and Bobby McMann.

"The line's been very good both defensively and offensively," the coach explained. "They're doing a real good job, so I felt really reluctant to just put Mitch and Matty back together."

You can understand why.

Tavares leads the Leafs with six even-strength points in the eight games Matthews missed. McMann tops the team with three even-strength goals. Marner is dominating with 14 points during this stretch.

It was that line that got the Leafs going during Sunday's 3-2 win over the Utah Hockey Club. With Toronto trailing 1-0 in the second period, Tavares made a great pass to spring Marner for a breakaway and the tying tally.

"I got the puck low in our zone and I saw Mitchy read that there was some open ice ahead," Tavares said. "I don't know if they were changing for sure, but he certainly read that there was an opportunity to get above them and I saw the lane. I just tried to fire it as hard as I could to make sure it didn't get deflected."

Toronto's top line is also playing a responsible style and shutting down opposing top lines. Vegas' Jack Eichel and Edmonton's Connor McDavid were both kept off the board at even strength during recent games against the Leafs.

"We've been smart with our puck decisions," Marner noted. "We've made good decisions at blue lines. I think we've created some good opportunities in the O-zone and played smart defensively.”

The Leafs are 7-1-0 without Matthews and Marner has two points in all seven wins.

"Just the consistency every night," Matthews said of the top line's success in his absence. "They're playing against the other team's top lines for the most part and, you know, being really great on the offensive side of the puck as well as the D side of the puck ... The chemistry seems to really be clicking."

At Tuesday's practice, Matthews skated between Swedes Pontus Holmberg and William Nylander.

"I thought it was great," the Arizona native said. "We were moving the puck really well, keeping it simple for the most part. I mean, they're both really good players. I just might have to learn something Swedish to communicate better with them. We gelled really well in practice."

"I like the looks of what I had today with them," Berube said. "I thought they had a good practice and they looked pretty good and pretty comfortable."

—-

Matthews may want to hold off on the Swedish lessons. His usual left winger, Matthew Knies, was back at practice on Tuesday for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury last week against Vegas.

"Hopefully he keeps progressing in the right way," said Berube. "We'll get him on the ice again tomorrow and see where he's at."

Knies was wearing a red no-contact sweater during the session. He is eligible to be activated off injured reserve for Saturday's game in Tampa.

Forward Max Domi, who has missed two games with a lower-body injury, did not skate on Tuesday and did not travel with the team to Florida. 

Defenceman Jake McCabe missed Tuesday's practice, but Berube said it was simply a maintenance day.

—-

The Panthers, who are third in the NHL in hits, will be in a surly mood on Wednesday after losing four straight games and dropping six of seven since Nov. 19.

During the stretch at the end of practice, Berube warned his players to expect an intense battle.

"They play a very direct, hard game," Berube said. "We're going to have to do a real good job against their forecheck and their pressure that they come with. They're a physical team. It'll be a battle. We got to make sure that we stand up to the battle and we initiate too, and we play our game."

The Leafs are looking to play a similar style to Florida this season. Berube often uses the word "direct" to describe how he wants the Leafs to play.

Dealing with the Florida forecheck will be a big challenge and not just because of the physicality they bring.

"They're very good with their sticks and breaking up plays out of our D-zone," said Marner. "We've got to be good at [break outs]. They play up the ice in your face and make it hard to get space."

Toronto has surged three points ahead of Florida atop the Atlantic Division standings. This game is a golden opportunity to put some daylight between themselves and a top rival while also gauging where they're at in their development under Berube.

"You always want to measure yourself against the top teams," Matthews said. "And, obviously, they're the defending Cup champions. I think it's an important game. It's a divisional game. These are important no matter what time of the season it is. When you get down towards the end of the season, these are the kind of games that you look back on and you want to make sure that you perform and make sure you get in those points.”

—-

Goalie Anthony Stolarz, defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and forward Steven Lorentz, who all played for the Panthers last season, will receive their Stanley Cup rings prior to the morning skate on Wednesday.

"We're looking forward to that and finally getting a piece of hardware there," said Stolarz with a smile. "It's going to be something that hopefully I keep in my family for generations."

This will be the first time the former Florida players hit the ice in Sunrise since the Game 7 win against the Edmonton Oilers. The trio will be welcomed back on the video board.

"It's going to mean a lot," said Stolarz. "I was appreciative of that organization and everything they did for me."

The 30-year-old served as the back-up to Sergei Bobrovsky last season.

"He was definitely a great mentor to me," Stolarz said. "I credit him for helping me develop and helping me work on my game. A lot of the things that I carry into this year, I took from him last year. So, to be able to play against him would surely be exciting."

Stolarz returns to Florida with a .927 save percentage, which is second overall in the NHL. He's already made 12 starts, which is halfway to the career high 24 he made last year when he finished with a .925 save percentage.

Stolarz has not played since beating the Oilers on Nov. 16.

"Something I've kind of gotten used to over the years," Stolarz said of the layoff. "I've gone, you know, two, three weeks without playing at times the last couple of years."

And he's learned how to maximize the practice time he gets. What has he been working on with goalie coach Curtis Sanford?

"In-zone depth, net plays, you know, plays down low," the 6-foot-6 netminder revealed. "I'm a bigger guy so a lot of teams like to throw pucks kind of at my feet. So, you know, just kind of controlling the initial shot."

---

On Sunday night, William and Alex Nylander became the fifth set of brothers to suit up in the same game for the Leafs. Asked about his favourite part of the day, William couldn't just list one moment.

"Coming to the rink to begin with," he told TSN, "and then being out there in warmups, and then seeing him create some chances. I mean, he hit the post there, it would've been nice to see that one go in, but it was a great time out there."

"It's something I'll remember forever," said Alex.

The duo took the subway to the game together in order to beat the Santa Claus Parade traffic. When they got to the rink, Alex was struck by how different their pre-game routines were and how little he saw big brother prior to puck drop.

They started on separate lines, but got some shifts together. And Alex was on the ice when William scored on a breakaway in the second period.

"I had a good seat for that, to see him go five-hole there," he said with a grin.

Father Michael Nylander, a former NHL star who played 920 games in the league, was in the stands for the game.

"He said it was awesome," Alex, 26, told TSN after Tuesday's practice. "It was one of his biggest hockey moments, he said, so that was awesome."

Alex, who started the season on an American Hockey League contract with the Toronto Marlies, will keep the stick he used in the game as a souvenir from the special day.

William, 28, said he was "incredibly proud" of how Alex earned the opportunity. Alex scored eight goals in 14 games with the Marlies prior to inking a deal with the Leafs.

Alex is the 18th forward the Leafs have used in the month of November as injuries have piled up. The team is currently missing seven regulars.

As guys like Matthews and Knies get closer to a return, some of the Marlies call-ups will be sent back to the AHL. Alex requires waivers, which may buy him some extra time. With Matthews back on a regular line, Nikita Grebenkin was the odd man out at Tuesday's practice.

For now, the brothers are soaking up every moment together. The pair stayed out late for extra work on Tuesday. 

"It's tough to tell them apart sometimes just because they look the same on the ice, the same everything other than Willy's spray paint on his stick," said Matthews. "Alex plays with a lot of confidence, just like his brother, so it's really cool to see."

The similarities are evident off the ice as well.

"You see it from how they dress to on the ice," Marner noted. "You kind of get lost sometimes thinking who's who. Both got a lot of swagger and a lot of confidence. That's what you'd love to see out of those two, and they play with it as well."

---

Lines at Tuesday's practice:

McMann - Tavares - Marner

Holmberg - Matthews - W. Nylander

Robertson - Minten - A. Nylander

Steeves - Dewar - Lorentz

Grebenkin, Knies, Reaves

Mermis* - Tanev

Rielly - Ekman-Larsson

Benoit - Timmins

Myers - Hakanpää

Stolarz

Woll

*McCabe absent