{"id":385335,"date":"2026-01-01T19:46:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T19:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/385335\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T19:46:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T19:46:11","slug":"berube-says-maple-leafs-cant-take-foot-off-the-gas-with-matthews-returning-vs-jets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/385335\/","title":{"rendered":"Berube says Maple Leafs can\u2019t \u2018take foot off the gas\u2019 with Matthews returning vs. Jets"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> host the Winnipeg Jets<\/a> at Scotiabank arena on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Auston Matthews<\/a> returns to the Leafs lineup after missing a game with a lower-body injury after blocking a shot against the Red Wings on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cPretty worrisome, you never know what it (the injury) could be,\u201d Matthews said this morning. \u201cIt caught me in a difficult spot and was pretty swollen for a few days. I just tried to do what I could to reduce (the swelling) and fit my foot in skate and get going again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt good to skate yesterday and I feel every day I have made really good progress. It\u2019s not like we have an abundance of days to let things settle.\u201d<\/p>\n

The injury hit Matthews at a time he may have been playing his best hockey of the season. The Leafs captain had a goal and two assists in the two games before the injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really liked the way he\u2019s been playing lately,\u201d coach Craig Berube<\/a> said. \u201cHe\u2019s driving play and getting good opportunities and playing with a lot of pace and determination.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s taking pucks to the middle of the ice more and attacking people 1-on-1 and winning all those battles,\u201d the coach said. \u201cHis attack mentality around the net. It looks like he is ripping the pucks a little bit quicker. A bit more (power) on his shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthews returns to the Leafs coming off a 4-0 win over the Devils on Thursday. It may have been the club\u2019s most complete game of the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last game before the break and then coming out of the break. Collecting points in all those games (7 out of 8) is huge,\u201d said Matthews. \u201cSo, you want to keep it going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reenergized Leafs ready to seize opportunity in wide-open Atlantic The Maple Leafs are eager to start the new year on the right foot and see an opportunity to climb in an Atlantic division that is jam-packed at the moment. <\/p>\n

Berube cautioned his team to keep the same mind set they showed against the Devils on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t take your foot off the gas,\u201d Berube said this morning. \u201cThose guys that stepped it up like we needed them to, they got to keep stepping it up. It\u2019s about the team and the team game. We need every guy to be at his best within the team game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Auston back, it doesn\u2019t mean we can relax. We\u2019ve got to go out there and dictate the pace of the game tonight and initiate in all areas of the game tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Matthews was asked if he would stop blocking shots because of the scare he suffered against the Red Wings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of instincts. Most of the shots I\u2019m blocking are not super hard shots that come from the point,\u201d Matthews said. \u201cSometimes you have to lay your body on the line, and I think that is something that is just part of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

William Nylander<\/a> will miss a third straight game with a lower-body injury.<\/p>\n

Nylander was on the ice testing things out before the main group headed out for morning skate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say he\u2019s doubtful to practice with us tomorrow,\u201d cautioned Berube. \u201cYou never know if he comes in tomorrow and feels like he wants to get on the ice with the team, hopefully that\u2019s true. We\u2019ll have to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

The Maple Leafs power-play has come alive in recent games going 4-8 in the last three games.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of it can be mindset, \u201c Matthews said. \u201cYou kind of get different looks with different guys and something just starts to click. The puck starts to go and a lot of it is confidence, a lot of it is a belief every night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve said it before just how big the power-play is in general. We scored two power-play goals against New Jersey and that\u2019s a big difference in the game. Another positive is that both units are firing really well and producing and that\u2019s what you need out of the power-play.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe 10 games ago we were passing the puck on the outside too much,\u201d Nicolas Roy<\/a> said. He\u2019s become a key member of the club\u2019s second PP unit. \u201cNow we try to attack, create chaos and from there you have better chances.\u201d<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

The Leafs better play as of late comes at an important time for the club, still on the outside of the playoff picture.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe division is tight; the whole league is tight,\u201d Matthews said. \u201cNo matter where you are sitting you see there are opportunities, but you have to make the most of it. \u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to impose our game a little more,\u201d said Roy. \u201cYou look back when we had a tougher stretch, we let the other team come at us. Now we want to do the reverse, go at the other team and be hard on the forecheck. A little desperation as well. You look at the standings it is close, and every game matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives you an extra motivation,\u201d Roy added. \u201cIt\u2019s a long season and some games you don\u2019t feel it as much as others. Then you look at the standings, and you realize you need it tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

The U.S. Olympic hockey roster will be unveiled on Friday. Auston Matthews<\/a> was one of the first six names announced in the summer along with forwards Jack Eichel<\/a>, Brady and Matthew Tkachuk<\/a>, and defencemen Quinn Hughes<\/a> and Charlie McAvoy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

‘It’s definitely in the back of your head’: Olympics getting closer to reality for Matthews The Olympics is getting closer to becmoing a reality for Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews and while he is trying to focus on Toronto’s play, it’s definitely in the back of his mind. Matthews spoke about what he learned from Connor Hellebuyck and Kyle Connor from their time at 4 Nations. <\/p>\n

\u201cOnce the new year flips you realize you\u2019re 5-6 weeks away so definitely very exciting,\u201d said Matthews. \u201cWe got a lot of work to do here but it is definitely in the back of your head that the opportunity is kind of looming in a month and a half and how exciting it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck<\/a> and forward Kyle Connor<\/a> are expected to join Matthews in Milan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI played with (Hellebuyck) at the World Cup and I played world juniors with Kyle,\u201d said Matthews. \u201cI\u2019ve known them a little bit of time. Both great people. Hellebuyck is one of the best goalies in the world. Kyle is elite as well, a difficult player to handle one-on-one. He can make you pay on power-play and 5 on 5.\u201d<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Maple Leafs line combinations during morning skate<\/p>\n

F<\/p>\n

Knies-Matthews-Domi<\/p>\n

Maccelli-Tavares-McMann<\/p>\n

Cowan-Roy-Robertson<\/p>\n

Lorentz-Laughton-Jarnkrok<\/p>\n

Extra: Quillan<\/p>\n

D<\/p>\n

Rielly-Myers<\/p>\n

McCabe-Ekman-Larsson<\/p>\n

Benoit-Stecher<\/p>\n

Extra: Carlo and Benning<\/p>\n

G<\/p>\n

Woll in starters goal<\/p>\n

Hildeby<\/p>\n

PP units in morning skate<\/p>\n

PP1<\/p>\n

Rielly<\/p>\n

Maccelli, Knies, Matthews<\/p>\n

Tavares<\/p>\n

PP2<\/p>\n

Ekman-Larsson<\/p>\n

Domi, McMann, Robertson<\/p>\n

Roy<\/p>\n

The Jets did not hold a morning skate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Toronto Maple Leafs host the Winnipeg Jets at Scotiabank arena on Thursday. Auston Matthews returns to the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":385336,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5106],"tags":[4759,5,20,5172,4,66,31,32467,5171],"class_list":{"0":"post-385335","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto-maple-leafs","8":"tag-apple-news","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-maple-leafs","11":"tag-mapleleafs","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-toronto","14":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs","15":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs-sports-hockey-team-team-nhl-api-10","16":"tag-torontomapleleafs"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115821568490598560","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=385335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/385335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/385336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=385335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=385335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=385335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}