Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews was granted a maintenance day ahead of Saturday’s morning skate, but he will play Saturday against the Ottawa Senators. Matthews isn’t scoring at his usual proficient level, and head coach Craig Berube addressed his goal-scoring woes, while highlighting his strong defensive impact.

“It weighs on everybody. A player like that, he wants to help the team by putting the puck in the net. Listen, I said it before, he’s getting the opportunities. That hasn’t really changed from last year,” Berube said Saturday, following the morning skate.

“It’s not going in as much this year. But his overall game for me, I go off last game, he did a great job defensively going up against (Florida Panthers captain Aleksander) Barkov, who’s one of the best in the league. He’s doing a lot of good things. We just got to stick with it, like the goal scoring, he’s getting the chances. He’s got to keep shooting and we need him to play 200 feet.”

Matthews has recorded 26 goals and 56 points in 50 games, during a season where he’s battled through two injury-related absences, and Berube said he’s merely giving his captain some rest. While these are stellar numbers are in a vacuum, Matthews isn’t generating offence at the same stratospheric level he’s attained during his career, and it’s a source of consternation to some, as the Maple Leafs prepare for their upcoming playoff run.

Berube appeared to shake up the lines ahead of Saturday’s contest. David Kampf was a placeholder in Matthews’ usual spot, and it appears that Matthews will be centring a new first line with Matthew Knies and Max Domi on the wings. Mitch Marner joined John Tavares and Bobby McMann during Saturday’s morning skate, while William Nylander headlines a new-look third line alongside Scott Laughton and Calle Jarnkrok.

Matthews sports a plus-eight differential at 5-on-5, while the Maple Leafs control 53.65 percent of the expected goals when he’s on the ice at 5-on-5 via Natural Stat Trick, which ranks 137th among 677 skaters with 200 minutes or more. This doesn’t account for quality of opponent faced, and Matthews is still controlling possession, even if he hasn’t been near his usual Hart Trophy-contending form. Matthews’ 2.59 expected goals per 60 ranks tied for 437th, which again doesn’t account for quality of opponent faced, but you can surmise that Matthews’ defensive impact may be closer to the league median, rather than operating as a real Selke contender.

If Matthews resumes scoring at his normal rate, getting rest and focusing on his defensive impact will subside, but everyone is trying to figure out why the Leafs’ captain isn’t playing at his usual level, going into the home stretch of the regular season, with a franchise-defining postseason on the horizon.