Here are six takeaways from the Maple Leafs’ 6-4 victory against the Bruins:

• Auston Matthews looked terrific in his return from a six-game injury-related absence. Matthews recorded a goal and two assists, while facilitating the best game of Matthew Knies’ young career. Matthews won puck battles, he kept pucks alive, he almost received an assist on Jake McCabe’s opening goal, and he was constantly creating plays for his teammates. Daily Faceoff’s Matt Larkin wrote a larger piece on why the Maple Leafs need to load manage Matthews through the second half of the year, as Craig Berube indicated Toronto’s captain may still be playing through injury. It’s incumbent upon the Maple Leafs to give Matthews some rest days, but when he’s on the ice, he’s been outright dominant. Matthews looked like himself in Saturday’s practice session as well and when he’s on the ice, he elevates the Maple Leafs to a new tier. That was also the most fun game the Maple Leafs have played in months, welcome back, Auston!
• Matthew Knies was sensational in a five-point outing and he went back to the basics. Knies attacked the net-front, he used his size, speed and physicality to great effect and he drifted into open space created by Matthews’ presence on the ice. Knies finished with a game-high six shots, his second goal was a beautiful finish with his back to the net, and he made life miserable for the Bruins all evening. Knies-Matthews-Marner is genuinely one of the best lines in the NHL, and it was a welcome sight to see Toronto’s top forwards playing in a different tier.
• Bruins captain Brad Marchand reiterated pre-game that the Leafs are his team’s biggest rival, but he was also effusive in his praise. Marchand also highlighted how the Maple Leafs may be an entirely different team under Berube, and it may have been prophetic: “There’s a lot of blood between the two of us now, the amount of times we’ve played Toronto and I swear we’ve always been in the standings together. A lot of high-tension games between the two of us, they’re exciting games. They’re an extremely good team this year, and they’ve been building for a while now, and they’re really figuring out the right way to play, the way they stick up for each other and skate for each other, they’re playing a different brand of hockey right now.”
• Jake McCabe scored Toronto’s first goal by a defenceman since November 30 to open the scoring. McCabe and Tanev were excellent throughout the contest — Tanev had a huge shot block on David Pastrnak in the final minutes of the contest in a high-danger area. McCabe told reporters post-game that the Maple Leafs’ lack of offensive production from the blue line isn’t a concern at all, and hearing him explain it made sense in real-time: “We’re not worried about scoring goals in the back end. We’re worried about winning hockey games, and that’s keeping the puck out of our net. “You keep the goals against down in this league, and we got enough guys in this room that can score. So, obviously, it’s nice to contribute when we do, but that’s not our priority.”
• Toronto’s third line of Bobby McMann, Max Domi and Nick Robertson provided some much-needed secondary scoring since being placed together on December 15, but Saturday’s results highlighted where it may struggle down the line. McMann generated a ton of chances, but he also crashed into Philippe Myers (who was celebrated earlier in the day after signing a deserved two-year extension) off a faceoff, which Domi lost cleanly, and it was too late for Robertson to react to Trent Frederic, tying the game at 2-2. It’s just one play, but it provided a keen reminder of where this line will occasionally lose focus in the defensive end.
• This may be the first criticism John Tavares has received all season in this space, but he was caught staring with the puck on his stick in the defensive zone, was promptly picked off by Pastrnak, who tied the game. Knies scored his hat-trick goal two shifts later, so Tavares’ mistake is largely an afterthought. It’s been an excellent year overall from Tavares, in all facets of the game, but his turnover in the defensive zone highlighted an off night from his line overall, alongside William Nylander and Max Pacioretty.