Matthews says he 'felt good' in return
Published
Toronto Maple Leafs star forward Auston Matthews returned from his second multi-game absence of the season Saturday night against the Boston Bruins, tallying a goal and two assists in a 6-4 victory.
Matthews told reporters after the game he was happy with how his body held up.
"I felt good. My linemates made it pretty easy for me. The chemistry was there...pretty happy with it. We want to keep that momentum going," Matthews said via TSN's Tony Ambrogio.
Matthews played 17:32 Saturday and collected both of his assists on goals from Matthew Knies, who picked up his first career hat trick in the win. Matthews then scored an empty-netter in the final minute, giving him his 12th goal of the season.
The Leafs' captain had been out since Dec. 20 with an undisclosed upper-body injury, the same injury that forced him to miss nine games in November and sent him to Germany for treatment. Matthews has now missed 15 of Toronto's 40 games this season.
"Obviously it's never fun watching so I feel excited about being back in," the 26-year-old said earlier in the day.
Head coach Craig Berube said after Saturday's win that the team is still trying to figure out how to navigate the injury.
"We definitely have to manage him and get him to a point where he's fully healthy. And whether that's minutes or a little bit of time off, I don't know. I don't have the answer for you right now, but we're obviously, going to stay in tune with it and try to do what's best for him," Berube said.
Matthews has 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points in the 25 games he's played in 2024-25. The Leafs are 10-5-0 without him in the lineup and 14-8-2 with him.
Mitch Marner and Jake McCabe had the other goals in the Maple Leafs' win Saturday, their third in a row and fourth in the last five games. They will be back in action Sunday evening at Scotiabank Arena against the Philadelphia Flyers.