TORONTO — The Maple Leafs aren’t expecting Auston Matthews to miss any time following his gold medal win at the Olympics.
Coach Craig Berube said he expects Matthews to be in the lineup when the Leafs face the Lightning in Tampa on Wednesday night — though a final determination will be made on Wednesday morning.
The Leafs captain will fly to Tampa from Washington, D.C., on Tuesday evening following a visit to the White House and celebrations with his American teammates.
“He’s riding a pretty good high right now with winning,” Berube said. “We’ll evaluate (how he’s feeling) tomorrow and see where he’s at and I’ll get a better feel when I talk to him here tonight.”
William Nylander and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who represented Sweden at the Games in Italy, returned to practice with the Leafs on Tuesday morning, meanwhile, and will both play against the Lightning.
“I mean, it’s frustrating,” Nylander said of his first Olympic experience, which ended in an overtime loss to the U.S. in the quarterfinals. “It’s another four years until the next one. So that’s where my mind has been the past couple days.”
He was pleased for Matthews’ victory nonetheless.
“I told him to win it after they beat us,” Nylander said. “I’m happy they did.”

William Nylander’s first Olympics ended in a quarterfinal loss to the Americans. Geoff Burke / Imagn Images
There was plenty of joy in the dressing room for Matthews, who is the Leafs’ captain and the captain of the U.S. squad that won gold.
“I’m so happy for him,” said his close friend, Max Domi. “He deserves it all. He works hard. He’s the leader of our team. Awesome human being, great hockey player, and I think he’s shown on the biggest stage he can be one of the best players in the biggest games.
“I think we were all cheering for him,” Domi added. “He’s our teammate, he’s a brother of ours, and we all wanted him to win. To see him and his family enjoy that together, it’s pretty spectacular.”
The Leafs will be almost fully healthy coming out of the Olympic break, with the exception of Chris Tanev, who remains without a timetable in his attempted return from a groin injury.
John Tavares missed Tuesday’s practice with the flu but is expected to be available against the Lightning. So might Dakota Joshua, who hasn’t played since Dec. 28 because of a lacerated kidney. Berube said he was debating whether to play Joshua in Tampa or a night later against the Panthers in Florida. He didn’t expect to play Joshua in both games, given the long layoff.
Morgan Rielly will also return to the Leafs’ lineup after missing time before the break with an injury.