TORONTO -- Auston Matthews said he feels as though he is rounding into form for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"I think every day I've felt physically better and better so that's always a good sign," the center said Thursday. "My hands and feet are coming back."
Matthews said at the start of training camp on July 13 that he had tested positive for coronavirus while in Arizona, where he went after the NHL paused the season on March 12 due to the pandemic. He said he was "pretty much asymptomatic and felt for the most part pretty normal for the two weeks."
The center said the biggest effect the positive test had on him was being forced to stay off the ice for three weeks. But after a training camp that featured a five-game intrasquad scrimmage series to prepare for the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, Matthews looks like the player who led Toronto in goals (47) and points (80) this season.
The Maple Leafs play the Columbus Blue Jackets in a best-of-5 qualifier, which starts Aug. 2 at Scotiabank Arena. The winner will advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, while the loser will have a chance at the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft in the Second Phase of the NHL Draft Lottery, scheduled for Aug. 10.
"I have seen progression. I've seen it with his conditioning and being able to sustain his play for longer," coach Sheldon Keefe said. "He's been really good. A lot of the things that I was hoping to see from him in this camp, I've seen. He's the least of my worries at this point."
Early in the scrimmage series, Matthews said he was not getting into position to use his shot as often as he would like, but felt he began to get himself into scoring areas more often during the final two scrimmages.
"I think I've been shooting the puck a little bit more the past couple of scrimmages and creating a little bit more, so I think that's all a good sign," Matthews said. "I just want to continue to progress here positively and find my game back as fast as I can."
Though Matthews didn't score as much early in the scrimmages, Keefe was impressed with the way he forechecked and forced turnovers.
"He hasn't shot the puck a great deal," Keefe said. "But he's made a ton of plays and he's won the puck back with his skill set and his body.".
Keefe shuffled the teams for the final scrimmage, which resulted in Matthews and his linemates, right wing William Nylander and left wing Zach Hyman, being matched against a line with left wing Ilya Mikheyev, center John Tavares and right wing Mitchell Marner.
"It helps a lot facing those guys," Matthews said. "There's three elite players on that line. They're a big part of our team as well as our line. It's always good when you go head-to-head and compete 1-on-1 against each other. It definitely brings out the best in each person and we're going to need that in the next couple of weeks."
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