Matthews 'ready to go' for Maple Leafs after shoulder injury

Auston Matthews declared himself ready to return to the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; TVAS, FS-TN, SNO, NHL.TV).
The 20-year-old center, who has missed 10 games after injuring his shoulder in a 4-3 win against the New York Islanders on Feb. 22, practiced in his regular spot Wednesday in Nashville, with left wing Zach Hyman and right wing William Nylander.

"I felt good, nice to kind of get all the reps in and everything," Matthews said. "In my mind I think I'm ready to go and take it as I'm getting ready to play tomorrow. I felt really good today."
Matthews has 50 points (28 goals, 22 assists) in 53 games this season.

Defenseman Nikita Zaitsev also appears ready to return after missing the past five games with the flu. He practiced on his regular pair with Jake Gardiner.
"I was in my bed for five days," Zaitsev said. "[I feel] pretty good now, unbelievable actually."
Coach Mike Babcock said he would decide Thursday morning whether either will play.
"Zaitsev was out there today, we played him in a regular rotation, and so was Matthews," Babcock said. "I understand they feel like they can go, so we'll see tomorrow if they can go or not and make a decision from there."
The Maple Leafs (43-23-7) trail the Boston Bruins by six points for second place in the Atlantic Division and are 12 points ahead of the fourth-place Florida Panthers. Boston has two games in hand.
Matthews' injury occurred when he was hit by Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech and forward Cal Clutterbuck with 1:06 remaining in the third period.
The Maple Leafs are 11-7-2 without Matthews this season; he missed four games from Nov. 8-16 with a back injury and six games from Dec. 10-20 with a concussion.

"[The injuries are] all different. I was able to skate more with this one so I feel like my legs will be better," Matthew said. "We'll see."
Though he has been able to skate and work out more intensely than following his previous two injuries, Babcock said it may take Matthews a few games to get his timing back.
"The other times, one with his back, one with his head, he wasn't able to do anything," Babcock said, "and so you come back and you're out of shape and you say, 'How can you lose it?' but that's just the way it is.
"It's still going to be going way faster than he's been practicing and so there's going to be an adjustment period, but he's a good player. He'll figure it out."