Matthews says he’s moved past injury adversity

The Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche skated at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday. 

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Auston Matthews is starting to look more like the player who scored 60 goals and won the Hart Trophy last season. The 25-year-old centre has finally turned the page on injury issues that hampered him early this season. 

"Feeling good now, and that's all that matters," Matthews confirmed. 

"He's been really skating well and on the puck and jumping into holes," observed coach Sheldon Keefe. "In terms of how he's moving on the ice, that's more of what we're used to seeing ... that's more of what we like to see from him in terms of just getting around the ice. It looks like he's light and free and all of that, so that's been really nice. It's been a few games now that he's been really skating well."

And the goals are coming. Matthews has scored in three straight games for the first time since mid-January. 

"We've had a little bit more time with the puck," said Matthews, who has fired 17 shots on net in the last three games. "Some more Grade-A opportunities, and I think that always helps just kind of get the feet moving and the confidence going." 

The ability to move so well at 6-foot-3, 208 pounds is a big reason why Matthews is such a force. 

"He's just a threat kind of everywhere in the offensive zone," noted Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar. "You never really know when he's going to get the puck. I think that's what's so good about their team, they're so good in small areas, feeding each other and then finding each other in areas you wouldn’t expect it. So, he's large threat."

In an interview with Jonas Siegel of The Athletic, Matthews revealed for the first time that the nagging injury, which forced him to miss a couple games earlier season, was a hand issue. Matthews, who has seen his shooting percentage decline from 17.2 per cent last year to 12.4 this season, stressed that this injury is "absolutely" behind him. 

Matthews also missed five games with a knee sprain, which was sustained on Jan. 25. 

"Throughout the year you're going to go through adversity, and, for myself, it's been a great learning curve just going through that," he said. "I mean, the main goal here is trying to win and that's what we're trying to do and trying to build good habits throughout the regular season and put ourselves in the best position possible, so that's really been my mindset the whole year. Obviously, for myself, you always want more, you always want to produce and stuff, but at the same time the team's always going to come first and my job is to help the team win."

Matthews has continued to be a responsible two-way force and leads all NHL forwards in blocked shots. He's helped the Leafs climb to fifth overall in the standings. And despite the injury issues, Matthews has still scored 31 goals. He feels the adversity this season has made him mentally stronger.  

"It's not always going to be sunshine and roses. You gotta go through stuff sometimes and just learn," he said.

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Matthews and Mitch Marner had a new linemate on Monday morning as Calle Jarnkrok skated on the top line. 

"It's something we haven't really looked at much," said Keefe. "If I'm going to use Jarnkrok from time to time in that spot I just wanted to give them a little more familiarity, starting with today's morning skate."

Jarnkrok has scored in three of five games. 

"He's a really smart player," said Matthews, who picked up an assist on Jarnkrok's goal on Monday against the Buffalo Sabres. "He works hard. His release is pretty impressive too. Just a really smart player. I find he's just in really good spots all over the ice, makes plays and hunts pucks. So, looking forward to it." 

Alex Kerfoot, who had been on the top line, skated alongside Sam Lafferty and Wayne Simmonds on Monday morning. Simmonds will be a scratch as the Leafs once again dress seven defencemen and 11 forwards. 

"I wanted to get Kerfoot paired with Lafferty a little bit more," Keefe said. "Just similar type of skill sets in terms of how they skate and move with and without the puck."

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Matthews helped the Leafs get the better of Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. That experience will help on Monday with Nathan MacKinnon in town. 

"They are similar in a lot of ways," said Marner. "Just their power when the puck's in their hands with how quick they can turn back on pucks, you know, cutback and make a 1-on-1 challenge with someone and usually win that 1-on-1 challenge." 

McDavid did score a goal on Saturday, but the Leafs outshot the Oilers 8-3 when Matthews and No. 97 shared the ice in 5-on-5 play (9:33 of ice time), per NaturalStatTrick.com. 

"It's similar in the sense that they're both so fast and explosive," Matthews said of McDavid and MacKinnon. "They can just blow right by you especially when they pick up speed through the neutral zone. That's when they're most dangerous, so just trying to steer them to the outside as much as possible. When you play some of the big boys like that, for the most part, we've done a pretty good job of taking away they middle of the ice as much as possible, but obviously they're good players and they'll get their looks sometimes."

Jake McCabe is the Leafs defenceman who played McDavid the most on Saturday. What's the key against MacKinnon?

"You got to really find his speed early," McCabe said. "Like all the way back in their own end while he's building it up. Understand if they go quick up or whatever it may be that a lot of time it's bumping back to him in the neutral zone with a boatload of speed ... We did a pretty good job against Edmonton the other night as far as defending. I thought we were really responsible and all of us really took onus on the defending side of things. Obviously, they're going to get their looks no matter how hard you defend, I feel like."

MacKinnon has scored in five straight games and has 15 goals in his last 15 games dating back to Feb. 11. 

"He's looking like Nate right now," said Makar. "He's obviously a superstar for a reason. He's been awesome for us lately and hopefully he can continue to that because we'll lean on him quite a bit here on the forward end of things. It's been awesome. I love watching Nate, so it's good."

"It looks like he's dialling his game up at the right time of year and that's what he can do," said coach Jared Bednar. "Long, competitive season, but when you need to win hockey games he's really elevated his game and looks like he's getting back into playoff form. I like that, that your top players can elevate at the right times. That's what you need, and he's been doing it." 

Like Matthews, MacKinnon has faced some injury adversity this season. 

"I feel good," MacKinnon said. "I feel I'm engaged every night. My body feels pretty good at this point of the season. I missed about a month, so it got me a rest. Yeah, hopefully I will have a good stretch here."

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Denis Malgin will play in Toronto for the first time since being traded by the Leafs on Dec. 19. 

"It was nice to be here," Malgin said. "Good memories. Good guys. It was a lot of fun. Just good memories."

"It will be interesting," said Matthews. "I played with Denis when we were 18 and in Switzerland, and it was cool playing with him a couple stints here. All of us really liked him in the locker room. He's a great guy and a great player too. I really enjoy watching him play and happy that he's finding success in Colorado. It will be fun to go against him tonight."

With Artturi Lehkonen sidelined, Malgin will move into Colorado's top six. 

"Scoring didn't come easy probably here in Toronto, looked like, and then when he first came to us," noted Bednar. "But he's gotten a little confidence, he's hit a couple hot streaks and been doing the right thing. He clearly thinks the game like a top-six forward and has that kind of ability. When we need a guy, if we're missing a guy, then he's been the guy to go up and try to help us in those scoring areas ... good opportunity coming up for him tonight."

Malgin scored just twice in 23 games with the Leafs this season. He has six goals in 26 games with the Avalanche, but all six goals have come in the last 14 games.  

"He's scoring big goals every other night it feels like," said MacKinnon. "He brings a ton of speed. I just think as he's gotten more comfortable, he's making plays and doing the right things on both sides of the puck and, yeah, he looks great."

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The Leafs beat the Avalanche 6-2 on Dec. 31 in Denver. Colorado expects another stiff test on Monday, especially when it comes to defending in their own end.

"Their ability to hang onto pucks in the offensive zone and be dangerous," Bednar said of the biggest challenge. "Not that they're not dangerous off the rush, but I find their O-zone play and their competitiveness below the tops of the circles and around the net front has given us troubles in the past."

And Bednar sees a better Leafs team now in the wake of the trade deadline.

"They've been a great team the last few years," he said. "They're a great team again and now they just got deeper. I like the guys they added, what they provide to this team, and I'm sure they’re still figuring out how it all works. It hasn't been a long time since the deadline."

The Avalanche are the defending Stanley Cup champions, but currently sit 13th in the overall standings.  

"It's a team we want to measure ourselves against," Bednar said of the Leafs. "All the best teams in teams in the East, when we get an opportunity to play them we want to make sure we're playing our best."

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Luke Schenn skated with teammates for the first time since returning from paternity leave. He and his wife welcomed their third child last Friday. 

"Things are a little hectic at home, but everything went smooth, and my wife and new daughter are doing great," the 33-year-old defenceman said. "They're in Vancouver and looking forward to hopefully getting them down here in a couple weeks."

The Leafs drafted Schenn fifth overall in 2008 and he played four seasons in Toronto before being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. Now, he's getting an unexpected second chance with his first team. 

"Just walking into this building, coming into this dressing room, it's just surreal," he said. "Going through it all as such a young guy, you appreciate what it means to play in Toronto but not to the extent I do now. That just comes with experience and age and maturity and what I've gone through in my career in terms of ups and downs. You realize how great of an organization this is. Not to disrespect any others, but this is as good as it gets as far as how they treat players and the passionate fan base and everything that goes along with it."

Schenn will not play on Wednesday, but could make his home debut 2.0 on Friday when the Leafs host the Carolina Hurricanes. Schenn has already played two road games with the Leafs and isn't expecting a big adjustment period.

"They changed up the stall colours a little bit," he said with a smile. "That was probably it. I noticed that. And the big screen in the room where we do the video, that used to be the goalie stalls there, so that's kind of flipped around. Other than that, a lot of it is pretty familiar, honestly."

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Ilya Samsonov will get the start on Wednesday. Keefe mentioned on Sunday that the goalie isn't quite 100 per cent. 

"He's fine," the coach said. "We wanted to make sure he had a little more time to be certain he was 100 per cent. He's had a little bit of discomfort in the last couple weeks that we wanted to make sure settled properly."

Alexandar Georgiev will start for the Avalanche, Bednar confirmed.

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Lines at Wednesday's morning skate: 

Jarnkrok - Matthews - Marner 
Bunting - Tavares - Nylander 
Kerfoot - Lafferty - Simmonds*
Aston-Reese - Kampf - Acciari

Rielly - Brodie 
McCabe - Holl 
Giordano - Liljegren 
Gustafsson - Schenn 
Timmins 

Samsonov starts 
Murray 

Special teams work at Wednesday's skate: 

PP1 - Rielly, Matthews, Tavares, Marner, Nylander 
PP2 - Gustafsson, Kerfoot, Bunting, Jarnkrok, Lafferty