The star forward was back on a top line with Michael Bunting and William Nylander during practice on Tuesday. Matthews says he anticipates a return against the Blackhawks based on how he feels when he wakes up Wednesday.
Provided he feels good in the morning, Auston Matthews expects to return to the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup when the team hosts the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.
"(I'll) just kind of see how everything responds tomorrow morning and see how I'm feeling, but for myself, I'm trying to get into the mindset for the anticipation of playing and just go from there," Matthews said following practice.
The star forward took part in his first full practice since he was sidelined with a knee sprain 18 days ago.
"I thought he looked good," Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said of Matthews. "Today's practice was important in terms of getting him back; we'll see how he is in the morning and await word from the medical team."
On Jan. 27, the Maple Leafs announced that Matthews would be out of the lineup for a minimum of three weeks.
The Maple Leafs and Matthews caught a bit of a break that the Arizona native's injury intersected with a league-mandated week off from action. He elected to stay in town to continue rehabbing the knee and it certainly looks like that decision is paying off in allowing him to return earlier than expected.
"Everything felt better today and I've been feeling better every day," Matthews said of his recovery.
Matthews has 25 goals and 28 assists in 47 games this season.