Toronto Maple Leafs centre Auston Matthews said he is good to go for Thursday's game against the Nashville Predators.
"I felt good. Nice to kind of get in all the reps and everything so, in my mind, I think I’m ready to go, take it as I’m getting ready to play tomorrow so felt really good today," Matthews said.
He was back in his usual spot between William Nylander and Zach Hyman at practice Wednesday for the first time since his shoulder injury.
The Leafs play the NHL-leading Nashville Predators Thursday, which will be four weeks since Matthews was injured in a game against the New York Islanders.
“It’s just been a process,” said Matthews Monday after practice. “I felt good [today]. Just taking more bumps and [doing] stick battles and all that stuff. It feels better and it’s definitely progressing.”
In 58 games, the 20-year-old has 28 goals and 22 assists. He also missed four games in November with a suspected back injury and six in December with what he later admitted to be a concussion.
Meanwhile, Nikita Zaitsev was paired with Jake Gardiner for the first time in almost two weeks, while Leo Komarov was the only one missing from practice.
Here were the lines:
Hyman-Matthews-Nylander
Marleau-Kadri-Marner
JvR-Bozak-Brown
Johnsson-Plekanec-Kapanen
Leivo, Moore
Rielly-Hainsey
Gardiner-Zaitsev
Dermott-Polak
Martin-Carrick
Andersen
McElhinney - Mark Masters