Maple Leafs' Matthews, Nylander to return vs. Canucks on Sunday

Elliotte Friedman and Chris Johnston look at the latest news from around the NHL, with the Canucks recovering from COVID-19 and the playoff situation for all the Canadian teams.

Toronto Maple Leafs stars Auston Matthews and William Nylander will return to the lineup Sunday night against the Vancouver Canucks.

Matthews missed Thursday's game against the Winnipeg Jets with a left hand/wrist injury, similar to the one that kept him out of three previous games this season. He was considered day-to-day.

Nylander has been in isolation since April 7 as part of the NHL's COVID-19 protocols after coming into close contact with someone who later exhibited symptoms.

"I was worried about maybe me getting it and giving it to the guys, which is something that I really didn't want to happen,” Nylander said Saturday. “I was pretty nervous. Thank God, nobody got it. That was probably the No. 1 thing."

Matthews, who leads the league with 32 goals, has scored five times in five games this season against the Canucks. Nylander enters play with 30 points in 39 games and had back-to-back two assists outings before entering protocols.

Live coverage of Sunday's game between the Maple Leafs and Canucks, Vancouver's first since its COVID-19 outbreak, begins at 7 p.m. ET on Sportsnet.

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