Matthews is good to play after his status was in question due to illness.
Auston Matthews will be in the lineup when the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Washington Capitals.
The superstar's status was in question after the player missed the club's morning skate due to an illness. But Matthews took the pre-game warmup and occupied his regular first-line center spot alongside Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi.
Matthews missed just one game this season after a flu bug him made a surprise scratch in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in December. The star forward is one goal away from hitting the 60-goal mark for just the second time in his career.
Liljegren out with an upper-body injury, Giordano activated.
When Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe discussed his lineup on Thursday, he hinted that some of his players who took the ice were also game-time decisions. It turns out Timothy Liljegren was one of them.
The Swedish defenseman was ruled out for Thursday game due to an upper-body injury. The 24-year-old has three goals and 20 assists in 52 games this season.
With Morgan Rielly out with an upper-body injury and Joel Edmundson out with an undisclosed injury, the club activated 40-year-old defenseman Mark Giordano from long-term injured reserve (LTIR).
Giordano sustained a head injury in a game against the Arizona Coyotes on Feb. 29. He had been eligible to come off LTIR for some time, but hadn't been used until now.
The veteran D-man has one goal and six assists in 38 games.
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