Scenes from Leafs’ morning skate: Matthews looks great with main group, Knies skates, Woll starts

Here’s what you need to know from Toronto’s morning skate:

Auston Matthews skates, shoots with normal velocity during Sunday’s practice

All eyes are on Matthews as he misses his eighth consecutive game, but it looks like he could to return action Wednesday. Matthews got some early work in, primarily working on his skating, shooting and release and he appeared no worse for wear. This is the tricky part, as Matthews looked fine when he took part in a November 9 morning skate prior to a game against the Montreal Canadiens, and looked every bit the part of a superstar.

Matthews took part in 2-on-1 drills alongside Ryan Reaves (serving the second game of his five-game suspension) and he looked explosive when skating at full speed. He was moving well laterally and didn’t appear to be labouring. At the time of this filing, there’s been no further update on Matthews’ status but he aced the eye test Sunday morning.

Matthew Knies skates before practice begins

Matthew Knies also got work in before practice started, primarily working on his skating with the puck. Knies is ruled out Sunday and is eligible to return next Sunday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, after being placed on injured reserve retroactive to November 20 on Friday with an upper-body injury

Knies has been one of the breakout players of the season, recording eight goals and 12 points in 20 games this season. The 22-year-old suffered the injury during Wednesday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights, when he was hit by Zach Whitecloud. Whitecloud wasn’t assessed a major penalty, and Knies immediately left the contest.

“They both skated and they’re feeling good, so it’s good,” Berube said Sunday morning.

Joseph Woll will start for 2nd consecutive game

Joseph Woll will start for the second consecutive game, which appears to be a reward for his excellent work against the Vegas Golden Knights, while managing Anthony Stolarz’s workload. Woll made 31 stops for the shut out, and Berube explained why he’s going to back to him on Sunday night.

“He had a real good game against Vegas,” Berube said. “Just thinking ahead here. Stolie’s played a lot. We’ve got some time here. He’s working in practice and doing a lot of good things. Really, that’s about it. We just talk about things and just make decisions on what we think is best for the goalies and the team.”

Stolarz has emerged as one of the NHL’s best goalies this season, and Woll is right behind him. Stolarz has posted a 7-3-2 record with a .927 save percentage, while Woll is sporting a 4-2-0 record with a .922 save percentage entering Sunday’s contest.

“Both goalies are going to see the net more than they have in the past, so it’s important we manage that to the best of our abilities,” Berube said. “Woll is coming off a real solid game against a real good team and we wanted to go back to him.”

Maple Leafs’ projected lineup:

Bobby McMann-John Tavares-Mitch Marner 

Nick Robertson-Pontus Holmberg-William Nylander

Nikita Grebenkin-Fraser Minten-Alex Nylander

Alex Steeves-Connor Dewar-Ryan Reaves 

Morgan Rielly-Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Jake McCabe-Chris Tanev 

Simon Benoit-Conor Timmins 

Joseph Woll (confirmed starter)

Anthony Stolarz