Matthews flew to Munich, Germany to get treatment for his upper-body injury and returned to skating on Saturday.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been winning without Auston Matthews in the lineup. He is now returning. What does the team do?

Defeating the defending Stanley Cup Champions won't be easy, which is why Maple Leafs fans are hoping that Matthews will be healthy enough to face the Panthers. The Toronto captain has been sidelined with an upper-body injury since Nov. 3, however, Tuesday's return to practice sparked optimism regarding his outlook.

While the Toronto Maple Leafs superstar indicated Wednesday’s showdown against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers as his possible return date, Matthews will miss a ninth consecutive game due to his undisclosed upper-body injury.

Berube reiterated that Matthews’ return will depend on when the star center feels ready to compete, and given the Leafs' form without him in the lineup there is no reason to rush his return. Matthews has been sidelined with an upper-body injury since Nov. 3, but Toronto has gone on to put up an impressive 7-1 record with its captain sidelined.

Not surprisingly, given their talents, the No. 1 pair of Tanev and Jake McCabe has been particularly effective at keeping the area around the net clear. In their 200 five-on-five minutes together, the Leafs give up only 6.4 high-danger attempts per 60 minutes, the third-best mark for any pairing in the league that’s logged at least 150 minutes.

TORONTO -- Auston Matthews participated in his first full practice with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday and could return from an upper-body injury when they visit the Florida Panthers on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, SNW, SNO, SN1).