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SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

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After missing three games with an undisclosed injury, forward Auston Matthews will return to the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup on Saturday night against the Florida Panthers.

"It's been a little bit difficult trying to work through it," the 24-year-old centre admitted. "We got a great staff here and the communication's been great ... I feel comfortable getting back in tonight."

The injury was sustained during last Saturday's 5-4 overtime over the Ottawa Senators.

"Just an awkward little collision," Matthews revealed. "Nothing too crazy. Just kind of put myself in a bit of an awkward spot."

It was only after the adrenaline of that overtime win against the Senators wore off that Matthews realized the significance of the issue.

Matthews will have to manage the situation the rest of the season, but didn't seem too concerned. 

"It's something I think I can work through," he said. "We've done a good job of helping it feel better."

The Leafs did not hold a practice on Friday, but Matthews hit the ice to test things out.

"He wouldn't be playing if he wasn't at the point where he's feeling good," said coach Sheldon Keefe. "He's not playing through anything today. He's feeling good, but any player that gets any sort of injury where they have to miss time, they're on a program of managing that situation the rest of the season ... We hope the way he feels today is how he continues to feel the rest of the way."

The team will see how Matthews responds after Saturday's game before deciding if he will also play on Sunday against the Washington Capitals.

"He feels really good today," Keefe stressed. "We talked about the fact that we do play again tomorrow and you could take the day, but he really wanted to play tonight and feels like he's ready."

Prior to the injury, the Leafs did not plan to rest Matthews at all down the stretch. The hope is the week off from games will help the Arizona native feel refreshed for the biggest games of the season.

"Mitch Marner missed a good stretch of time with an injury and we've seen what that's done for him," Keefe pointed out. "[Matthews] plays a lot. There's a lot of attention on him when teams are playing against him and a lot of wear and tear on him so getting time to recover and rest is important."

"You take the good with the bad," Matthews said, "and hopefully that little bit of rest is beneficial but, obviously, I'd much prefer to be playing."

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There's a reason why Matthews is eager to return on Saturday. The Leafs are in need of a big response effort after being throttled 8-1 by the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. 

"The other night wasn't pretty," said Matthews. "We got our asses kicked so I'd like to think we're going to be a very motivated team tonight."

"It's a new day," said Keefe, "but the experience out there, that's lasting. We have to take that and be better as a result."

"We know what happened with them last game," said Panthers winger Jonathan Huberdeau, who's second in the NHL with 113 points. "They'll come here and be angry."

This will be the final meeting of the regular season between the Atlantic Division's top two teams. Prior to the loss to the Lightning, the Leafs had been surging down the stretch on an 11-1-1 run. But no one's been hotter than the Panthers. Florida has tied its franchise record with 12 straight wins. Since March 29, when the streak began, the Panthers have outscored their opponents 61-31 and averaged 41.2 shots per game. 

"These are the games we need to make sure we're firing on all cylinders," said Matthews. "These are the exact games that I think we need leading up to the playoffs."

"This team here in Florida does not give any team an inch," noted Keefe, "which is why they are who they are in the league and in the standings. We can't take a night off like we did the other night." 

The Panthers rallied from 5-1 down to beat the Leafs 7-6 in overtime on April 5 in Florida, which was the last meeting between the teams. 

"They got a skillful group over there with a lot of guys that can score and they made sure it was clear to us," Marner said. 

"They've just been running through everybody all year long," Matthews said. "I'm not sure there's, really, a big weakness in their game ... I know we feel confident in our group but, obviously, this is a team that's been the standard of the NHL so far this year, at least in our conference for sure."

The Panthers are two points up on the Colorado Avalanche in the race for the Presidents' Trophy. Florida has played one fewer game than the Avalanche, but would lose the regulation win tiebreaker. 

Florida's last loss actually came against Toronto back on March 27 when they fell 5-2 at Scotiabank Arena. 

"They've played us really well," said Panthers interim coach Andrew Brunette, "as hard as anybody we've played against all season, so we better be ready to play."

Sergei Bobrovsky starts for the Panthers. He allowed four goals on 14 shots before being pulled in the second period against Toronto on April 5. 

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The Panthers clinched top spot in the Eastern Conference on Thursday, but no one is expecting a letdown on Saturday. They haven't taken their foot off the gas since the season started.   

"This is as competitive a group as I've ever been around," said Brunette. "We maybe didn't play our best games a lot of those games, but their will to push themselves to get wins or get goals has been uncanny."

The Leafs haven't won a playoff series since 2004 and there's plenty of pressure to get over the hump this year. While Panthers players aren't under the microscope in the same way, the heat is certainly on in Florida. The Panthers haven't advanced in the playoffs since 1995, which is the only active NHL drought longer than Toronto's. 

"I've been here for nine, 10 years and we had some tough years and now it's our time," said Huberdeau. "It's been a lot of fun. The guys, we're a family, we're close and you can see it on the ice. This is the year that we have to do something with that. We all know it and there's no second chance for us."

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Asked who'd get his Hart Trophy vote, excluding himself, Huberdeau said it'd probably be Matthews. 

"He's special," the 28-year-old said. "I had a chance to play the All-Star Game with him and he's a guy who, if you give him the puck he's going to score every time. Not a lot of guys can get close to 60 goals so hopefully he doesn't get it tonight."

Despite missing eight games, Matthews has produced 58 goals to lead the league. Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl is second with 54. 

Matthews believes Huberdeau should also be in the MVP conversation.  

"It just seems like he's been driving the bus for this team along with a couple other guys, but obviously he really stands out," Matthews said. "I look at a guy like [Roman] Josi in Nashville, who's just been unbelievable, kind of the same thing, driving the bus for that team. There's a lot of guys you can look at and pick. [Connor] McDavid and Draisaitl, we've gotten so accustomed to them just doing this every single year that you kind of lose sight of how good of a season those two are having."

McDavid produced three assists on Friday night to break a tie with Huberdeau atop the points race. What would a scoring title mean? 

"It'd be great," Huberdeau said before cracking a smile. "Obviously with McDavid it's not easy. I mean, he drops three points every night."

McDavid is actually at 1.51 points per game this season. Huberdeau is at 1.47. 

Is Huberdeau keeping an eye on the Oilers captain down the stretch? 

"It's mostly my brother that texts me," Huberdeau said. "I don't really look at it and try not to really worry about that. It's always my brother. He's like, 'Ah, McDavid again!' I'm like, 'You can stop texting me. It's fine.'"

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Marner has posted two goals and five assists in two games against the Panthers this season. 

"He's a ridiculous player," Brunette said with a chuckle. "He's just so smart and really sneaky competitive. His IQ is off the charts and what he can do, how he sees the ice, how he defends … it's a little bit like [former Detroit Red Wing great Pavel] Datsyuk with his ability to strip pucks and [be] on pucks all the time and be very deceptive in everything he does. He doesn't get nearly the credit he deserves. He's a wonderful player."

"So smart with the puck," Huberdeau agreed. "The plays he makes, it's pretty special. We don't like it when it's against us, but you always appreciate a player like that. And the way he competes too, it's great."

And when you put Marner and Matthews together, it's been almost impossible to defend this season. 

"They're dangerously offensively," said Panthers defenceman Ben Chiarot. "They're dangerous without the puck. Forechecking, they know where to go, they know where you're trying to put the puck. They're really quick with their sticks. Not so much physical, but they're just in the way with their sticks. They're quick and they can turn the puck over and put it in the back of your net pretty fast."

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Jake Muzzin skated again on Saturday morning, but the left-shot defenceman will miss a fifth straight game with an undisclosed injury. 

"He's doing well," Keefe said. "He's not paying tonight. He's not there yet. We'll see how he does today and perhaps make a decision for tomorrow but, all things considered in terms of what he's been dealing with, he's been feeling good and progressing every day."

Keefe expects defenceman Rasmus Sandin, who isn't on the trip, to join the group for practice next week. The left-shot defenceman has been sidelined with a knee injury since March 19. 

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Despite suffering their most lopsided loss of the season on Thursday, the Leafs did not hold a practice on Friday.

"We've played 78 games now so we don't believe one 20-minute practice yesterday would be the solution or what's going to help us either this weekend or as we look big picture," Keefe explained. 

By the end of this week, the Leafs will have played eight games over a 13-day stretch. And Toronto is playing four games in four different cities over six days this week. 

"It's the busiest stretch of the season for us at a time when you wish it wasn't, because you don't want to put your players in a position to wear down or get injured," Keefe continued. "We're doing all that we can to manage that. We have to play the games, we don't have a choice there, but the practices are something we can manage."

Like on Tuesday morning in Toronto and Thursday morning in Tampa, the Leafs made Saturday's game-day skate optional. 

With Matthews returning, Leafs forward Jason Spezza will come out and be a healthy scratch against the Panthers. 

Panthers Forward Patric Hornqvist (load management) is out while former Leafs forward Joe Thornton is also projected to be a scratch for Florida. 

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Lines at Panthers morning skate: 

Huberdeau - Barkov - Duclair
Marchment - Bennett - Giroux
Mamin - Lundell - Reinhart
Lomberg - Luostarinen - Acciari

Chiarot - Weegar
Forsling - Montour
Carlsson - Gudas