TORONTO -- Auston Matthews seemed to be upbeat following his first game this season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, a 2-1 overtime loss to the New York Rangers at Scotiabank Arena on Monday.
Matthews, a center, had 16 shot attempts, eight shots on goal and won 13 of 15 face-offs despite missing Toronto's first three games of the season to recover from Aug. 13 wrist surgery. The Maple Leafs announced at the time he would need a minimum of six weeks.
"First game, I think I can definitely walk away feeling pretty happy with it," Matthews said. "I had some good chances, good looks, and I think that's all you can ask for, especially coming right in.
"I felt pretty good. I think the guys around me did a pretty good job helping me get into the game early."
Matthews participated in the majority of team drills after joining the main group at training camp Sept. 28. He initially targeted his return for the season opener against the Montreal Canadiens on Oct. 13 but delayed it to give his wrist more time to heal.
Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe wasn't about to ease Matthews back into the lineup and told him as much when they met earlier Monday. Matthews, who played on a line with forwards Nick Ritchie and Mitchell Marner, received 22:53 of ice time.
"I spoke with Auston this morning just about how he was feeling and letting him know my intention was to just play him like I normally would," Keefe said, "and his feedback was that he expected no less."
For his part, Matthews embraced the workload. With the Maple Leafs not playing again until Friday when they host the San Jose Sharks, he'll have plenty of time to recharge.
"I didn't mind it," he said. "I loved being out there every second. It was just a blast being out there with the guys. I'm just competing. And the cherry on top was the fans being back in the stands too."
Matthews missed four games last season due to the ailing wrist but still won the Rocket Richard Trophy by leading the NHL with 41 goals in 52 games. Keefe said his teammates know how important Matthews is to their chances of winning but cautioned they can't get carried away by trying to set him up as frequently as they did in spurts against the Rangers.
"With Auston being back, the natural part of that comes from the fact that guys are going to start looking for him and overpassing and changing their game a little bit," Keefe said. "We were just trying to talk to the guys about let's just continue to do the things that we've done. Auston makes us a better team. Let's not adjust or change too much."
Maple Leafs goalie Jack Campbell, who made 21 saves, said Matthews did not disappoint in his season debut.
"He was awesome," Campbell said.
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