Auston Matthews plans to return vs. Lightning after 9-game absence

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews will return for Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, after missing the team’s past nine games due to an upper-body injury. Matthews confirmed he’ll be returning to the lineup following Friday’s practice via David Alter of The Hockey News.

Matthews was listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, missed a November 5 game against the Boston Bruins and continued to miss time. He skated and shot with his normal velocity during optional skates and made a full return to practice Tuesday.

Toronto posted a 7-2-0 record in Matthews’ absence. The 27-year-old told reporters that he wanted to make sure he was fully ready to play before returning to the lineup.

“I think the individual skates were much different than a team practice, so this being kind of like the first actual team practice I’ve skated in, I’ve felt really good but I might need maybe one or two to really get my legs and lungs back under me,” Matthews said Tuesday.

Matthews recorded five goals and 11 points in 13 games to begin the season, while primarily paired with Matthew Knies and Mitch Marner. Head coach Craig Berube said earlier this week that he’s reticent to reunite Matthews with Marner upon returning to the lineup, in large part due to how well Marner has meshed with John Tavares and Bobby McMann on the new-look first line.

McMann suffered an injury against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday and is considered day-to-day, while Knies is expected to return Saturday from an injury that he suffered during a November 20 game against the Vegas Golden Knights, where his head hit the ice following a check from Zach Whitecloud.

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