Auston Matthews returned after missing nine games due to an upper-back injury. The Toronto Maple Leafs star is still not quite back game-breaking self. Max Pacioretty's body was feeling after playing his first game in almost a month with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The veteran forward returned to Toronto's lineup on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, playing on the top line alongside Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews. Pacioretty finished with 14:34 of ice time, the third-most minutes he's played in a game this season. "It felt great to come back. Obviously, four weeks is quite a bit of time. I think, as you get older, you want to keep the coals hot so you never want to miss too much time," the forward said in New Jersey on Tuesday. "But, there were some areas I was able to contribute, other areas that I could clean up, but it was never going to be perfect when you take that much time off and just looking to build on that tonight." Toronto had a day off in New York City, New York, on Sunday, which meant players had free reign to do whatever they wanted in the city that never sleeps. Pacioretty, however, used the day to rest in his hotel room after what was a physical game against Pittsburgh. "I needed that day off. I was in bed that whole day. I was feeling pretty sore," the veteran forward said with a smile. "But, oftentimes, maybe your first one back is not as physical as that, but it was a physical game and it's good to play an emotional one like that at first. I think it helps you down the road." [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNt4Pga_ubc[/embed] Pacioretty admitted that it was a difficult first game back after dealing with a lower-body injury for nearly a month. Playing on Toronto's top line, too, meant getting a significant bump in ice time after not seeing game action for a significant amount of time. He finished with 21 shifts, two penalties, and one shot on goal. "I was off adrenaline there in the first and then started to fade a little bit," Pacioretty said on Tuesday. "I got to do whatever I can to try to keep that intensity up there for three periods, and obviously, as you get older, maybe that's the area that you gotta focus on the most. And hopefully, I can do that tonight." The trio of Matthews, Marner, and Pacioretty finished with a 59.65 xGF% at five-on-five against the Penguins on Saturday, according to NaturalStatTrick.com [https://www.naturalstattrick.com/game.php?season=20242025&game=20433]. The 36-year-old believes there's success to come while playing alongside a few of Toronto's top players. "I definitely feel like I can help those guys in a sense where, you know, digging out loose pucks for them, getting in there on the forecheck, being physical, creating some time and space, getting to the net so they can kind of play their game and find their lanes," said Pacioretty. "I told a few people I have a lot more appreciation for some of the guys I played with earlier in my career who did a lot of the dirty work, and it's fun being able to change up a bit and try and help those guys out with a little bit of a different role, and hopefully we can get a little bit of chemistry and get hot." They'll get another opportunity to show how good of a trio they are on Tuesday night when the Maple Leafs take on one of the league's hottest teams, the New Jersey Devils.
