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SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

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TSN Toronto reporter Mark Masters checks in daily with news and notes from Maple Leafs practices and game-day skates. The Leafs practised at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Wednesday. 

For the first time since being sidelined by a shoulder injury last month, Auston Matthews skated with regular Leafs linemates Zach Hyman and William Nylander at practice. Per coach Mike Babcock, a final decision on whether Matthews plays against the Nashville Predators will be made Thursday morning, but all signs point to the 20-year-old returning to the lineup. 

"Nice to kind of get in all the reps and everything so, in my mind, I think I’m ready to go, (approaching) it as I’m getting ready to play tomorrow (Thursday night)," Matthews said. “Felt really good today.”

Matthews has sat out the last 10 games since the Feb. 22 injury against the New York Islanders, but unlike his previous injures this season he was able to skate right away during the rehab process. And Babcock believes that should make the transition back to game action a bit easier. 

“The other times, one with his back and one with his head, he wasn’t able to do anything and so when you come back you’re out of shape and you say, ‘How can you lose it?’ That’s just the way it is. Now, it’s still going to be going way faster than he’s been practicing, so there’ll be an adjustment period and he’ll figure it out.”

Matthews missed four games with a back injury in November and then six more with a concussion in December. 

“They’re all different,” Matthews said referring to his injuries. “Been able to skate more with this one so feels like my legs will be better. I don’t know, we’ll see.”

Nerves? Excitement? Matthews wasn’t sure what to expect at puck drop Thursday night. But Morgan Rielly has a sense for what his younger teammate may be feeling. The defenceman has had a couple injury absences in recent years including a six-game layoff for an elbow issue this season. 

“You’re nervous,” he recalled, “you just want to get back into it. You play your first shift a bit hesitant, but after that it’s important to get back to being yourself. It’s not very easy, but Auston’s one of those guys who, I imagine, it won’t take long to get back into a rhythm.”

Matthews has responded well after returning from his earlier injuries, at least in terms of production. He scored twice against the Canadiens in his first game back from the back injury on Nov. 18 and then he had a goal and an assist against the Rangers in his first game back from a concussion on Dec. 23. He has 28 goals and 22 assists in 53 games this season.

“It is the NHL,” Babcock reminded reporters, “it is hard to just step in and just get going as we’ve seen from other guys."

But even if he struggles to score early in his return, the mere presence of Matthews in the lineup makes a big difference. 

“Guys are used to playing with certain players and when everyone’s heathy you just get better chemistry throughout the entire lineup," said centre Nazem Kadri. “Certain guys don’t have to play with different guys constantly and it’s more of a set group and I think that’s going to help us ... He’s going to give us that different look and, obviously, it’s harder for opposing teams to match up lines."

“I mean, it’s not going to change anything,” Rielly cautioned. “We’ve played a certain way for a while now. I think when you get guys back it’s just a matter (of) depth and confidence and it’s not a new group, it’s just a group with a little more depth.”

While Matthews returned against non-playoff teams earlier in the season, Thursday’s game will be in the home of the hottest hockey team in the world. Nashville has gone 14-0-1 since Feb. 19 to surge into top spot in the NHL. 

“They got a lot of depth,” Matthews observed. “They’re fast and they play a real structured game. With their D, they’re always jumping up in the play so we got to make sure we don’t lose our F3 and have guys above their guys because they play with a lot skill and speed."

“This is probably going to feel like a real playoff game here tomorrow,” said Mitch Marner. “It’s a real team we’re playing and we got to make sure we’re ready.”

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Matthews wasn’t the only Leaf back in his usual spot at Wednesday’s practcie. Defenceman Nikita Zaitsev, who has missed five games due to illness, was paired with his usual partner Jake Gardiner and also may be ready to return on Thursday. As with Matthews, Babcock noted a decision on Zaitsev’s status will be made after the morning skate. Connor Carrick was the extra defenceman at practice. 

Leo Komarov, who has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury, was absent from practice.

Leafs willing to give Stamkos a pass over ‘dangerous’ trip 

The NHL Department of Player Safety fined Steven Stamkos $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for “a dangerous trip” on Rielly during the first period of Tuesday’s game. The Lightning captain received an elbowing penalty on the play and got an earful from the Leafs defenceman on the ice. 

But Rielly wasn’t all that eager to relive the sequence on Wednesday. 

“I haven’t watched it again. I just found out about it two seconds ago,” Rielly said when asked about the fine. “He plays the game hard. He’s not dirty, that’s just what happens sometimes, I guess. I don’t know. I’m not worried about it.”

Rielly’s sentiment was echoed by teammates. 

“I’m not quite sure 100 per cent what happened on the play, but I know that’s not in Stammer’s DNA,” said Kadri, who has been matched against Stamkos plenty of times over the years. “He doesn’t usually do that. So, I think, for that you can kind of give him a pass for it. Things happen fast and it’s an instinctual game and sometimes players do things that they didn’t necessarily want to do.”

Johnsson earns Babcock’s trust – for now 

It appears rookie Andreas Johnsson has done enough to stay in the lineup even with Matthews poised to return. 

Johnsson, who has played the last two games with Nylander, was moved to the fourth line at practice skating alongside Tomas Plekanec and Kasperi Kapanen

“He’s been very good, very quick on the puck, good defensively, made a couple mistakes last night but, in saying all that, I like him,” Babcock explained. “If he keeps playing good, he gets to play and if he doesn’t, someone else will play.”

Josh Leivo, who played Tuesday in Tampa, was an extra forward at practice alongside Dominic Moore. Forward Matt Martin skated as a defenceman in the workout and is the other extra body up front. 

Marner not always looking for JvR on power play

The Leafs’ top power-play unit – Rielly, Marner, Kadri, Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk – remains scorching hot as the team has now piled up nine man-advantage goals over the last six games (15 opportunities). 

While van Riemsdyk, the net-front presence, is the finisher on the unit with a team-leading 10 power-play goals, Marner is the straw that stirs the drink on the half wall. 

“It’s nice,” Marner said of his office on the side boards. “You get to see the whole ice and what the PK wants to do and go from there.”

And the diminutive dynamo insists he isn’t always looking for JvR in front. 

“Not really, no,” he said. “I mean, it’s just trying to survey the ice and see who’s open and he’s been open so it’s been going to him and he’s been putting it in.”

This latest hot streak has boosted the Leafs’ power play to fourth in the NHL on the season at 23.1 per cent. 

“We have good communication, good chemistry,” said Kadri, “and guys know where the puck’s going to be and where the puck’s going to go. We have plays that we draw up and we just communicate together and that allows people to be in the right place at the right time." 

“Mo (Rielly) does a great job of drawing guys in,” said Marner. “Bozie does a great job when he gets it on his side as well. You got a duel threat on both sides. And Mo up top can get the puck through constantly and JvR’s obviously a tipping machine.”

Lines at Wednesday’s practice: 

Forwards
Hyman-Matthews-Nylander
Marleau-Kadri-Marner 
van Riemsdyk-Bozak-Brown
Johnsson-Plekanec-Kapanen 
Leivo, Moore

Defencemen
Rielly-Hainsey 
Gardiner-Zaitsev 
Dermott-Polak
Martin-Carrick 

Goaltenders
Andersen 
McElhinney

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Power-play units at Wednesday’s practice: 

Rielly 
Bozak-Kadri-Marner 
van Riemsdyk

Gardiner 
Matthews-Brown-Nylander 
Marleau