Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube confirmed that Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies will return to the lineup for Saturday’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Both players alluded to their impending return after yesterday’s practice and they were seen skating on a line with William Nylander. They also were reinstated on the top power-play unit in a five-forward setup alongside Nylander, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares.

“In my mind, I’m back and excited to play tomorrow,” Matthews said on Friday via The Hockey News’ David Alter.

The reinstatement of Matthews and Knies is a huge boost to the Leafs who were feeling the effects of their absence on Wednesday when they struggled in a tough loss to the Florida Panthers. Going 7-2-0 in the nine games their captain was out due to a mysterious injury is no doubt a great sight to see but the Leafs are better off with their best player back in the mix, even if both will need some time to fully get back up to speed.

With Matthews and Knies slated to return to the lineup, Alex Steeves is the odd man out as he stayed out late during the optional skate alongside fellow scratches in Jani Hakanpaa, Philippe Myers, and the suspended Ryan Reaves. He went scoreless in four games this season while registering five shots on goal. It is worth noting that both Alex Nylander and Nick Robertson were not present for the morning skate though that doesn’t necessarily mean both will sit.

Reactivating Matthews and Knies means the Leafs are over the 23-man roster limit and the Leafs have an easy way to get that done. Steeves being out of the lineup would make him the likely candidate to get sent back to the AHL this afternoon. Under the CBA, he is eligible to go directly down without waivers due to playing less than 10 games or being on the roster for less than 30 days after getting called up. The other spot would be opened by placing Bobby McMann on IR which would make him ineligible to return until next Frida against the Washington Capitals.

While this round will be easy for Brad Treliving to manage, he will have some trickier decisions ahead as more regulars return to the fold. With Robertson continuing to struggle while getting outshined by Fraser Minten and Nikita Grebenkin, he could soon be on the move if he ends up being the odd man out.

Anthony Stolarz was the only goalie who took part in the optional skate, meaning Joseph Woll will get the nod for tonight’s game. While the Leafs have had the benefit of lengthy gaps in their schedule the past two weeks, tonight marks the start of a cramped week ahead for the team with four games in six days following their tilt against the Lightning.

This means we will get to see the first iteration of the rotation in full effect, so expect to see Stolarz get the start on Monday against the Chicago Blackhawks. As for Woll, he did well in his two starts last week to earn the NHL’s Third Star of the Week but has not had a start in six days.

Since most of the team did not skate this morning, here are the projected lines based on what was used at Friday’s practice via TSN’s Mark Masters: