Matthews says he'll play Saturday vs. Lightning

Auston Matthews is back.

The Toronto Maple Leafs captain told reporters Friday that he'll return to the team's lineup Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning after missing nine games with an upper-body injury, per Sportsnet's Luke Fox.

Matthews visited a specialist in Germany to help treat the ailment, which did not require surgery. He said the injury flared up in preseason and got progressively worse as he continued to play through it.

The shorthanded Maple Leafs went 7-2-0 in Matthews' absence, with Mitch Marner (15 points), William Nylander (11 points), and John Tavares (nine points) doing some heavy lifting in that span.

Tavares and Marner rekindled an old connection together on the top line, and it appears they'll stay together versus the Lightning. Matthews, who's spent most of his time this season with Marner, skated on a line between Nylander and Matthew Knies - who appears poised to return from a two-game absence - at Friday's practice.

Toronto also reunited a five-forward power-play unit at Friday's practice featuring Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Tavares, and Knies. The group's previous time together was cut short by Matthews' injury.

The Maple Leafs are expected to remain without fellow forwards Max Domi (lower-body injury), David Kampf (lower-body injury), Calle Jarnkrok (hernia), Max Pacioretty (lower-body injury), Ryan Reaves (suspension), and the latest player to go down, Bobby McMann (lower-body injury), against the Lightning.

Matthews, who won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy in three of the last four seasons, was off to an uncharacteristically slow start to the season before exiting the lineup, tallying just five goals and six assists in 13 games.