Although he will not suit up against the Islanders, it was notable to see Auston Matthews join several skaters for the club's optional skate. There is no timetable on when the Maple Leafs captain will return but the star center was worked hard on the ice and stayed along with scratches Pontus Holmberg, Conor Timmins and Marshall Rifai.

TORONTO -- Auston Matthews will return from an upper-body injury for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Boston Bruins at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, SNO, SNP, NESN). The center and Maple Leafs captain missed six games after reaggravating the injury Dec. 20 that forced him to miss nine in November.

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews has been ruled out of Thursday’s game against the New York Islanders, and spoke to reporters following Wednesday’s practice.

Auston Matthews took part in Maple Leafs practice for the first time since a Dec. 20 injury but won't play Tuesday against the Islanders.

NHL analyst Martin Biron has raised concerns about the uncertainty surrounding Auston Matthews' lingering upper-body injury. Matthews spoke to Jonas Siegel of The Athletic on Wednesday, offering an honest assessment of his situation and leaving the door open for playing through injury in the future.

When the New York Islanders defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 on Dec. 21, superstar forward Auston Matthews was missing from the lineup. Despite Matthews returning to the practice sheet for the first time since re-aggravating an injury on Dec. 20, the Maple Leafs' captain will miss his fifth straight game:

The Toronto Maple Leafs will bookend the New Year’s festivities with home-and-home meetings with the New York Islanders, but will play at least the first half w

The Maple Leafs captain resumed his spot on the top line, centring Mitch Marner and Matthew Knies, smiling as he led a morning stretch ahead of Hockey Night in Canada. Auston Matthews is clearly excited to make his return vs.

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube provided an optimistic update on Auston Matthews’ recovery from an upper-body injury, though he confirmed the star center will not play in the New York's Eve game against the New York Islanders.

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews joined his team for an informal New Year's Day practice today, but his timeline for returning to the lineup is unclear. In fact, it's unclear if Matthews will even be able to re-join the lineup at 100% the rest of this season.

Toronto entered Wednesday with 118 goals, the 13th most in the NHL, after leading the Eastern Conference with 298 goals last season. The Maple Leafs have scored three goals or fewer without Matthews in the lineup nine times, including four times in the last five games.