Keefe reveals surprising news about Matthews

The Leafs played without Ryan O'Reilly and John Tavares Tuesday night and managed to beat a high-powered Devils team. Saturday night they will get a bit of help as John Tavares will return to the lineup. However, one of their other stars may find himself getting a game or two off in the near future.

Following practice on Friday, Sheldon Keefe revealed that Auston Matthews is still playing through lingering injuries, more specifically from the shot he took off of the knee last Saturday against Vancouver. Keefe revealed, however, that the way Matthews is skating right now is "the best he's skated in a long time."

That's the good news for Matthews. While his defensive game has been stellar this season, some of his nagging injuries appear to have affected his offensive production, in particular the cross-check he received from Jamie Benn early on in the season, which he missed some time for. Additionally, Matthews is just a couple weeks removed from a knee sprain so it would be smart for Keefe to give him a few extra days rest here and there down the stretch as it is all but guaranteed the Leafs will be facing off against Tampa in the first round again in what should be another bruising series.