There's finally good news on the Auston Matthews front, as the team has announced their captain is finally healthy and ready to for tonight's game. He's back in action. Auston Matthews will return to the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup Saturday night when they host the Boston Bruins. Auston Matthews hasn't played since Dec. 20, <a href='https://www.hockeylatest.com/nhl-team/toronto-maple-leafs/the-leafs-place-auston-matthews-on-retroactive-injured-reserve-as-multiple-players-are-out-with-the-flu' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>sitting out six consecutive games with a nagging upper-body ailment</a>. Toronto went 3-3-0 without him but has won three of its past four contests. «Never fun watching, so I feel excited about being back in,» Matthews said after the morning skate at Scotiabank Arena. «The last couple of skates I've had, I've felt good. (There has been) positive progress throughout those and I'm feeling confident day by day.» <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status/1875573793093202282'> </a></blockquote></div> He centered a line with Matthew Knies and Mitch Marner at morning skate <a href='https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/how-the-maple-leafs-will-handle-auston-matthews-ice-time-in-return-from-upper-body-injury-against-bruins' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>and took reps with the first power-play unit</a>. It was a coaches' debate according to Craig Berube, regarding where to insert Matthews before going with the obvious choice of him returning between Knies and Marner. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/dalter/status/1875569154293481664'> </a></blockquote></div> <a href='https://www.nhl.com/mapleleafs/player/auston-matthews-8479318' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Matthews</a> also said he intends to play Sunday when the Leafs entertain the Philadelphia Flyers. He sat out nine November games with the same injury and also missed camp with it. Said Tavares: «It doesn't get much better than that, when you get our captain back, one of the best in the world and a unique, special player that does so much for us in all ends of the ice. No one can score goals quite like him.» Joseph Woll will go in goal for Toronto, and Dennis Hildeby will back him up. On the injury front, Chris Tanev said he didn't lose any teeth when he took a puck to the mouth in Tuesday's game with the New York Islanders. Though the resulting cut did require eight or nine stitches, Chris Tanev reports it was gum, not teeth, he spat out as he left the ice.