Matthews shakes off rust as Leafs offence finds a spark

The Maple Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3 on Saturday night at Amalie Arena. Sunday is a day off for the team. 

It didn't take long for Auston Matthews to get back on the scoresheet. The Leafs centre picked up an assist on Toronto's opening goal in the first period on Saturday night. 

"I felt fine," said Matthews, who suited up for the first time since Nov. 3. "As the game went on, I felt a little bit better. You know, still felt a little bit rusty, but I thought our line played pretty solid all around, and simple for the most part."

Matthew Knies, who also returned from an injury absence, opened the scoring against the Lightning via a nifty net-front tip. Knies and Matthews also assisted on the empty-net goal by William Nylander, which sealed the 5-3 victory in Tampa. 

"Obviously it feels good to chip in with some goals there, and especially early on," Matthews said. "I just want to continue to build forward and get better each game."

Matthews missed nine games due to an undisclosed upper-body issue. The reigning Rocket Richard Trophy winner produced five goals goals and six assists in his first 13 games as the injury, which flared up during training camp, got progressively worse. After nearly four weeks between games and a trip to Germany for treatment, Matthews is "pretty confident" the injury won't be a problem again. 

Despite winning seven of nine games, the Leafs produced just nine goals in 5-on-5 play without their captain. 

"We're looking for him to create momentum for us and be the leader and kind of drive the bus," said Knies. "He did that, and it's going to keep coming from him."

The return of Matthews and Knies sparked Toronto's stagnant even-strength attack. On Saturday, Toronto exploded for four goals in 5-on-5 play.

"Having them back is huge and you can see our production was great," said goalie Joseph Woll. 

"They played great," added winger Nick Robertson. "They obviously give us even more confidence on the ice."

Matthews logged 20 minutes and 23 seconds of ice time and was credited with two takeaways. 

"He was strong on pucks," observed coach Craig Berube. "Thought he moved well out there."

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Knies, who missed a pair of games with an upper-body injury and was playing for the first time since Nov. 20, scored by deflecting a Chris Tanev point shot past Andrei Vasilevskiy. 

"I kind of was left alone out front," the 6-foot-3, 227-pound winger said. "Tanny made a nice shot that was easy for me to tip. Fortunately, it went through his legs there."

Knies has scored nine goals in 21 games this season with almost all the damage coming from in and around the net. The 22-year-old has been watching video of Edmonton Oilers winger Zach Hyman in order to refine his net-front approach. 

"Just like his footwork and his stick placement, just little things like that could help my game," the second-year pro explained. "Obviously, I play net front on the power play and I'm there most of the game, so just trying to make myself available and get my stick open to kind of tap those in. It's something I kind of need to get a better grip on."

It seems like he has a pretty firm grip so far. It's a big reason why Knies has been able to play effectively beside Matthews since Day 1 of training camp. 

"He's so big and strong," Matthews said of his fellow Arizona native. "He's just very agile at the same time. He works on that stuff. He works on those tips. He works on plays in and around the net. He just continues to grow and continues to get better."

Playing in Tampa seems to bring out the best in Knies, who has eight points in seven games at Amalie Arena. It was in this building that his collegiate career came to a heartbreaking end in 2023 when Knies' University of Minnesota Golden Gophers lost in overtime of the national championship game against the Quinnipiac Bobcats. 

"It's still bittersweet," Knies said of returning to Tampa. "I still have those memories haunting me in the back of my head. But I made some good ones here too, so I've got to kind of hide those in the back. Yeah, it's definitely getting better. It's trending upwards."

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There was a scary moment in the second period on Saturday when a shot by Lightning defenceman Nick Perbix hit Leafs defenceman Jake McCabe in the side of the head. 

"Honestly, a little sick to my stomach," Woll said. 

McCabe, who was playing in his 600th game, was down for a few moments before skating off. 

"I was happy to see him up and moving," Woll noted. 

The hard-nosed blueliner, 31, did not return to the game with the team labelling it an "upper-body injury." 

But, in a rare move, Berube provided a rather definitive update after the game.

"He'll be fine," Berube quickly said. 

The coach added that McCabe is not expected to miss Monday's game against the Chicago Blackhawks. 

"He's a heart-and-soul guy on our team," said Matthews. "Fortunately we saw him in the locker room and he's doing alright ... He's a guy that puts it all on the line each and every night and a guy you love to have on your team."

McCabe and Tanev have formed one of the league's top shutdown pairings this season. The duo also play together on the penalty kill. 

With McCabe out, the Lightning scored three goals in the third period to turn a 4-0 blowout into a tense finish. 

"We were a little bit tentative and didn't win enough battles and things like that," Berube said. "We let them move it around too easily."

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What was Woll thinking after Tampa scored its third goal with two minutes and 22 seconds remaining? 

"Ah, stop the next one," he said with a chuckle. 

Woll stopped 38 of 41 shots. 

"We had ample chances to score and we didn't," said Lightning coach Jon Cooper. "Tip your hat, their goalie played pretty well." 

Vasilevskiy allowed four goals on 28 shots. 

"We had our looks and couldn't score and they had their looks and scored and sometimes that happens," Cooper concluded. 

Woll's biggest save may have come at the end of the first period when he denied a Mikey Eyssimont breakaway, which kept Toronto up 1-0 heading into the intermission. 

"There's not much going on in my head," Woll said of the play. "Just make the save. I think when you're playing your best, you're not really thinking. So, yeah, my answer is probably not a whole lot, and I think that's a good thing."

After a bumpy start to the season, which saw him miss time due to groin tightness, Woll is seeing and thinking clearly at the moment. He's won five straight games with a .938 save percentage in this hot stretch since Nov. 8. 

"I think just getting back playing has been nice," the 26-year-old said. "Obviously, I missed the first few games of the season, so it's been good to get back in a rhythm and just playing hockey again."

It was suggested to Woll that this may be his best run of hockey with the Leafs. He said that was a big statement, but didn't object to the idea. He did provide some context. 

"I think it's been some of the best defensive games I've been behind in terms of blocks," he said. "We have such a great D core and the forwards do a great job blocking shots. Steven Lorentz again with a kick save. Like, his poor feet. But, as a team, I think we've done a great job."

The Leafs rank seventh in blocks per 60 minutes entering Sunday's games. Last season Toronto finished 13th in that category. 

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In an unusual move, Robertson skipped the Leafs optional skate on Saturday morning. 

"Maybe switch it up a little bit," he said. "I was open to changing anything. I thought it was necessary given my legs weren't feeling, for some reason, the greatest."

Robertson entered Saturday's showdown against the Lightning mired in a 12 game point drought. During a pre-game pep talk, Berube encouraged the sharpshooting winger to go to the net more in an attempt to find a "greasy" slump-busting goal. 

The slump was indeed busted in Tampa, but it was done via a trademark Robertson release. Robertson caught Vasilevskiy cheating just a bit in the second period and beat him with a bad-angle blast. 

"I just saw a little opening up [over] his shoulder," Robertson said. "He sealed pretty good and I just took my shot and luckily went in."

"Hell of a snipe," said Knies. 

Robertson let out a yell after scoring for the first time since on Oct. 22. 

"It was obviously a relief," the 23-year-old said. "It's been a while so I was happy to get on the board there. It felt pretty good, yeah."

Robertson scored 14 goals in 56 games lasts season. He didn't go more than four games without a point.  

"I see him every day in practice," said Woll. "He's one of the best shooters I've ever seen."

And yet Robertson had failed to convert on 20 straight shots since scoring late during a blowout loss in Columbus. Such dry spells are rare for a guy who scored 55 goals in 46 games during his final Ontario Hockey League season. In fact, Robertson hasn't experienced something like this since he was a 16-year-old in the OHL. And even then it wasn't this extreme. 

"A couple assists here and there keep you kind of sane," he said. "This is something I haven't dealt with before. But it's good to know that I have this in my back pocket and know how to respond to it."

Robertson focused on finding other ways to contribute and stay confident during the drought. He leads the Leafs with nine drawn penalties. Robertson's motor never stopped running and Berube consistently praised his work ethic. 

But at 5-foot-9, Robertson is not going to make a huge impact with physical play. Scoring is central to his identity as a player. 

"That stuff can wear on you sometimes," said Matthews. "It's not easy when you're snakebitten and you're getting opportunities and the puck just doesn't seem to fall. I know that one felt really good for him. All the boys are extremely pumped for him. I think there's more to come for him, absolutely."

"Hopefully I can build on it," Robertson said.

Unfortunately, he won't be able to skip the morning skate on Monday. The Leafs will be holding a mandatory, full-team workout ahead of the game against Chicago. Robertson did score in his only previous game against the Blackhawks. 

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With Matthews and Knies returning to the active roster on Saturday, Alex Steeves was sent back to the American Hockey League. 

Bobby McMann was placed on injured reserve, which means he will also miss Monday and Wednesday's games. The winger sustained a lower-body injury in Florida.  

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Lines in Saturday's game: 

Knies - Matthews - W. Nylander
Holmberg - Tavares - Marner
Robertson - Minten - Lorentz
Grebenkin - Dewar - A. Nylander

McCabe - Tanev
Rielly - Ekman-Larsson
Benoit - Timmins

Woll starts 
Stolarz