Recovery Progress Accelerating as Auston Matthews and Chris Tanev Take Big Steps for Maple Leafs

The Leafs have been without the services of Chris Tanev for nearly the entire month of November, after also losing the veteran defender for several games in October due to a concussion.

In his first game back from injury, Tanev took an awkward hit from Flyers star Matvei Michkov, which rendered him unconscious and in need of a stretcher to make his way off the ice and to the hopsital.

Meanwhile, captain Auston Matthews has been sidelined for the last week with a lower-body injury, and hadn't skated at all over the past week.

Thankfully, we have positive updates on both fronts, as The Hockey News' David Alter is reporting that on Tuesday morning, both players were back on the ice ahead of Maple Leafs practice.

The pair were joined by Toronto Marlies defenseman Marshall Rifai, who has been sidelined since training camp with an injury of his own.

What this means for both Tanev and Matthews is not necessarily that a return is close, but that progress is being made. Tanev was placed on LTIR just last night and Matthews was placed on injured reserve a few short days ago, retroactive to last Tuesday.

For Matthews, who was struck by an unfortunate lower-body injury against the Boston Bruins last week, it's been an up-and-down season. The 28-year-old has struggled to keep up with William Nylander, Matthew Knies and even veteran pivot John Tavares this season when it comes to his production.

Knies has blossomed into a bona fide NHL star, having produced 17 assists and 22 points in 19 games for the Leafs this season. Nylander currently leads the team with a whopping 26 points in just 16 games. He also leads the team in assists with 18.

Tavares, perhaps the biggest surprise in the NHL this year, leads the team in goals with 11, sitting second on the team in points with 24.

While his teammates are all celebrating what could be career years, Matthews is 5th in point production in Toronto this season, sitting behind the aforementioned Knies, Tavares and Nylander, as well as Morgan Rielly (15 points), who has enjoyed a resurgence after a down year.

Matthews has just 14 points through 17 games this season. Matthews does lead the team in +/- this season as a +9, so that's something at least.

While we don't yet have a timeline for return for either Tanev or Matthews, perhaps we'll get more information on these two injured Leafs when GM Brad Treliving meets with the media today.

One thing is for certain -- these two stars being back on the ice provides a bit of a light at the end of the tunnel for a banged-up Maple Leafs squad. Hopefully they can continue to get their reps in and avoid any setbacks as the team looks to shake off a disappointing 8-9-2 start and get back to stacking up wins like they did last season.