The Maple Leafs captain is scoring all the time again, but is he back to peak Matthews? Also, what's behind Rielly's struggles?

After the Toronto Maple Leafs were outclassed 3-0 by the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, head coach Craig Berube made several changes during Monday’s practice.

When defenceman Jake McCabe went down to an upper-body injury two weeks ago, you felt the loss of his presence on the Maple Leafs' blueline in a meaningful way, with the team losing three straight games.

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews has four goals in his last three games and nine goals in his last ten matchups versus the Tampa Bay Lightning

"It's been steady. I've been feeling good," Matthews said. "I think it's been pretty good since I've been back. I've been feeling better and better every night. So, you know, I just want to keep that going.

Ryan Reaves has earned himself another spot in the lineup as Toronto deals with an injury to one of their important fourth line forwards. For the better part of a month the Toronto Maple Leafs dealt with a litany of injuries to some very important players.

In other Maple Leafs news, Matt Murray started for the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday night in Bakersfield, Calif. If only that Murray start had been in the National Hockey League and several thousand kilometres to the northeast.

The Maple Leafs scored seven straight to overcome a 3-0 first-period deficit for a 7-3 win over the Canadiens.

The Maple Leafs' dependence on their 'Core Four' forwards is even more pronounced this season as their blueliners struggle to put up points. That's not likely to change.

The Maple Leafs continue to take the Tampa Bay Lightning by storm. For the third time in three meetings in 2024-25 between the Atlantic Division foes, Toronto prevailed, beating Tampa Bay 5-3 at Scotiabank Arena on Monday night.