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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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TORONTO – From a distance, Auston Matthews’ first game with the Toronto Maple Leafs in over a month went off without a hitch on Wednesday night.

The centreman, who suffered a shoulder injury on Oct. 27 and missed the next 14 games, scored two goals and added one assist against the San Jose Sharks, powering the Leafs to a 5-3 victory.

But for all that Matthews provided, the performance wasn’t quite as comfortable as it looked.

“After the first, I felt terrible. Second period I didn’t feel too good,” Matthews assessed afterwards. “The first period, you just kind of have that energy, the emotions. [By the] third period, I kind of got my legs under me, was kind of skating a bit more. But I think that’s expected with the first game back, it’s tough to get into game shape just in practice. You play games and that’s how you get that back.”

In the Leafs' third straight win - which put them in a tie with the Buffalo Sabres atop the NHL standings - Matthews didn't show many signs of the strain he felt in the game's opening period. The 21-year-old needed less than four minutes to tally his first assist, and less than 12 to score his first goal, both on the power play. On another first period shift, Matthews got past San Jose defenceman Erik Karlsson at the Sharks blueline and went in alone on goaltender Aaron Dell, but the puck rolled on him before he could get off a strong shot.

Feeling most confident in the final frame, Matthews scored his second goal of the night acting as a screen in front of Dell and tipping linemate Andreas Johnsson’s shot past him. While Matthews was reunited with his former linemate Kasperi Kapanen on Wednesday, it was his first outing with Johnsson on his wing, and Matthews was pleased with the result.

“You look up and down our lineup, you’re going to play with guys who are skilled, work hard, can make plays, finish chances,” Matthews said. “[Johnny is] a speedy guy, he’s skilled, he sees the play, his tenacity is high. Kappy and I are pretty familiar with each other. As we continue to play together we’ll just get better and better.”

In all, Matthews finished plus-1, with five shots on goal and at 64 per cent in the faceoff circle over 14:56 time on ice. And it wasn’t the first time Matthews has been a standout coming back from injury, either.

In returning from three separate injuries last season, Matthews had at least one goal in each initial outing, registering four goals and one assist total, but Wednesday’s three points was his highest rate of production in a comeback game.

“It’s just a coincidence,” Matthews shrugged of his penchant for instant success. “I try to score every night.”

With 19 points in 12 games on the season (12 goals, seven assists), only Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen has more points per game than Matthews (1.58). On Wednesday, Matthews also became just the sixth player since 2005-06 to record eight or more multi-point games in their first 12 appearances of the season.

“His skill set is no secret,” said John Tavares, who added two goals in the Leafs’ win. “You can see what makes him a special player. When you’re around guys like him with his talent and his drive, he drives the team, drives people individually so it’s fun to play with.”

It wasn’t just Matthews and Tavares who had big nights offensively, either. Mitch Marner had his second consecutive three-assist night, spurring Tavares to reflect on how the two forwards have exceeded his expectations this season.

“They’re probably better than I thought,” he said. “They’re just extremely talented hockey players and you can see how badly they want to be great. Just being around it every day, you understand and you learn more and more why they’re special players and why they still have so much more room to grow.”

In assessing the Leafs’ entire performance on Wednesday, coach Mike Babcock thought there was opportunity for improvement from everyone in terms of skating, but was happy with Matthews’ showing. Babcock said he may juggle his lines going forward based on a number of factors, and will have to wait and see whether his top centre can maintain this scoring pace.

“Your first couple of games [back], you get yourself going,” said Babcock. “I don’t know if [Matthews] is going to go this way for a bit or if he can maintain it, but obviously he's a real talented guy, a big guy, a smart guy. He was good for us.”

TAKEAWAYS

Marner is marvelous

It was late in the first period when Marner realized the stick in his hand was broken. With linemates Tavares and Zach Hyman exiting the zone, Marner signalled for a new stick from the Leafs’ equipment manager, grabbed the new twig at full speed, and made a pass to Marner that became his third assist of the period on Toronto’s third goal of the game.

Those few seconds reflected all that has made Marner so impactful for the Leafs this season, specifically when Matthews has been out. His anticipation with and without the puck, and his playmaking ability have reached another level, and Wednesday was just the latest example.

Earlier in the first, Marner was in on both Tavares’ and Matthews’ power play goals with more quick passes that helped turned the game into Marner’s 10th of the season with two or more helpers, and his third game with three. In his last 10 games, Marner has produced 17 points (G1, 16A) and his 30 assists are now tied for the NHL lead with Rantanen.

Andersen stays the course

Frederik Andersen has become accustomed to being the busier goaltender on the ice when he starts for the Leafs this season, and Wednesday was no exception. In turning aside 38 of 41 shots from San Jose (for a .927 save percentage), Andersen has now seen 39 or more shots in six of his last eight starts, with a 6-2-0 record. Facing the Sharks for the second time this month, Andersen mixed in several key stops, including at the end of a San Jose power play when the Sharks had been pressuring relentlessly with quality chances.

With his 14th win of the season, Andersen paces all NHL goalies in that category, and his .932 save percentage is third-best among starters.

Power play explodes

Without a doubt, the Leafs needed a reboot on the power play. Over the first 11 games before Matthews got hurt, the Leafs’ units were on fire, going nine-for-28 (32 per cent) and generating at least one goal in nine consecutive outings. Once Matthews went down, the power play cooled, posting a record of only 7-for-36 (19 per cent) in the next 14 games.

Whether it was just Matthews providing a boost, or a matter of pucks finally going in, the Leafs’ power play got its groove back against San Jose. Tavares got things started courtesy of a cross-crease feed from Matthews early in the first period, and then Matthews added a marker of his own on the man advantage less than nine minutes later. With two goals from Toronto’s top unit already in hand, Babcock rolled out his second unit first on the Leafs’ third power play chance, and Patrick Marleau buried a slick feed from Johnsson for another advantage goal. Toronto finished the game 3-for-4 on the power play. The Sharks had entered Wednesday's matchup with the NHL's best penalty kill (89.3 per cent), and still the Leafs did serious damage.

Going back to Josh Leivo’s power play goal in Monday’s win over the Boston Bruins, Toronto has now registered a goal with the extra man in consecutive games for the first time since Oct. 29-Nov. 3.

Johnsson chasing consistency

With the Leafs leading in the first period, and his new line looking dangerous, Johnsson was called for an offensive zone holding penalty on Joonas Donskoi right after Toronto’s faceoff, halting his unit’s momentum. Johnsson knew immediately it was a bad infraction after re-watching the play on the screen from the penalty box, where he threw his gloves to the ground in frustration. And that was before Tomas Hertl capitalized with a power play goal to make it 1-1.

Johnsson has been hard at work building his confidence all season, and could have let the miscue rattle him. But the winger stayed on course, and turned things around. In the second period he made a heads-up pass to Marleau on the power play for Toronto’s fourth goal, and then had the primary assist on Matthews’ goal with a good seeing-eye shot his linemate could tip home.

From start to finish, the game encapsulated how Johnsson is striving to maintain consistency in his game. Babcock said as much on Tuesday, when comparing how Johnsson performed in the Leafs’ 6-0 win over Philadelphia last Saturday (where he registered the first hat trick of his career) and Monday’s win over Boston where he wasn’t as big a factor. Being able to bounce back and find ways to contribute nightly will be important for Johnsson going forward, especially as long as he’s in the spotlight on a line with Matthews. He finished with two assists, and one shot on goal.

(Another) Marleau milestone

With his second period power play goal, Marleau has now registered at least one goal against all 31 teams in the NHL to become the 25th player in league history to do so. Marleau had only one assist in three previous contests against the team he played 19 seasons for in San Jose.

Blue and White Trending

Tracking Leafs’ trends all season long

Wednesday was the Leafs' sixth consecutive home victory, after they dropped five of their first eight games this season on home ice.

Next up

Toronto hits the road for a meeting with the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.

Open Mike

“I think we can play so much faster than we can play right now, and we’re going to. When we get everyone on deck we’ll be a quick team, too. [William Nylander] can fly, too.”

–          Mike Babcock, on where the Leafs still project to make improvements, with only days to go before the Dec. 1 deadline to get restricted free agent William Nylander under contract for the season. ​