The Toronto Maple Leafs got their captain back Tuesday night, and the NHL team responded with a 3-1 win over the Los Angels Kings at Scotiabank Arena.
While the win didn't earn the Leafs any style points, head coach Mike Babcock thought it was beautiful and says right now, the harder the game is for his team, the better.
Matthews and William Nylander scored 30 seconds apart in the third period for the Leafs.
Alexander Kerfoot also scored for Toronto (8-5-3), which got 24 saves from Frederik Anderson.
Captain John Tavares returned after missing seven games with a broken finger.
"Not bad," he said of his performance. "Probably a little bit of rust and just getting back into the rhythm of things."
Alex Iafallo scored for Los Angeles (5-10-0) and Jonathan Quick made 20 saves.