Matthews to return from upper-body injury for Maple Leafs against Bruins

The center and Maple Leafs captain missed six games after reaggravating the injury Dec. 20 that forced him to miss nine in November.

Matthews practiced Thursday for the second day in a row and traveled with the team for a 2-1 win at the New York Islanders. He skated in a noncontact jersey Wednesday but competed in drills.

He did not participate in a full morning skate prior to the 6-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 20 but scored and played 19:18. He took two hard hits in the game, one from Sabres forward Tage Thompson in the first period and a cross-check from defenseman Dennis Gilbert in the third period.

“A couple different things but I’d say that definitely (the hits) did not help the cause,” Matthews said. “Rest is helping. I’m not somebody who likes to stay still for long, so I’m just trying to do what I can maybe without overexerting certain things. Just trying to stay in as good shape as you can when you can’t skate.”

Matthews missed nine games in November because of an upper-body injury before returning Nov. 30, a 5-3 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. During his recovery, he took a five-day trip to Germany to visit a doctor who both he and other Maple Leafs players have seen in the past for consultation. The injury was one he had been managing since missing time during the preseason.

Matthews said he is unsure if he will be able to put the issue entirely behind him at any point this season.

“Yeah, I don’t know,” Matthews said. “I hope so, that’s obviously the goal. It’s tricky with these things. It’s a physical sport, it’s a contact sport, so things happen out there sometimes that are out of your control, so just trying to manage it as best I can.”

Neither Matthews nor Toronto coach Craig Berube have offered any further specifics as to the nature of the previous injury, though the coach did indicate earlier it is not related to the wrist injury Matthews previously had surgery on during the 2021 offseason.

Matthews had 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 11 games after returning from the injury in November, helping Toronto to an 8-3-0 record during that span. He is fourth on the Maple Leafs with 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 24 games this season.

He led the League with a career-high 69 goals last season and has scored at least 40 goals in each of the previous five seasons. Since entering the NHL in the 2016-17 season, Matthews leads the NHL with 379 goals.

Toronto (24-13-2) went 7-2-0 without Matthews in November and 3-3-0 during his most recent absence.