Auston Matthews makes his feelings known about his physical health since return from injury involving treatment in Germany

Auston Matthews' second spell after returning from an upper-body injury has been better than his output at the start of the season. The Maple Leafs center now has 18 points in as many games this year, with seven of them coming in the last five, following his return.

Auston Matthews suffered a blow in the game against the Minnesota Wild in early November. He was sidelined for nine games and made a return during their clash against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Nov. 30. Before his comeback he had to take a five-day trip to Europe, visiting a doctor in Germany who he has had consultations with previously.

The 27-year-old has looked as healthy as possible in the five games thus far. But the gruesome scheduling of those games seems to be a big challenge. The Leafs played four games in six days, splitting the wins with losses during the stretch.

Ahead of their road game against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, Matthews spoke at length about keeping his body going. He acknowledged the adrenaline rush of going through a congested week but also said he was feeling better.

“I’m getting there. I mean, it’s tough. You know, you jump right back into the games. After being out, I think it takes a little bit of time. It seems like the first couple of games, you’re kinda running on adrenaline just because you’ve been out, and you’re so excited to be back.

"Then, obviously, the wear and tear and the grind of playing a lot kinda comes back. So, it takes a little bit of time to really get your full conditioning and everything back. But like I said, every day, every game, I’m feeling better," Matthews said. [4:35]

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Auston Matthews happy getting rest days in Newark

The Toronto Maple Leafs arrived in Newark on Sunday. They took the weekend as an off day before returning to the rink on Monday for practice. Auston Matthews accepted that taking rest days during the season is important to keep their mind refreshed and gunning to go.

“Yeah, it's great. I mean, you want to take advantage of those rest days,” Auston Matthews said (per Yahoo Sports). “Time away from the rink to just kind of rest and recharge, especially with the schedule that we have this month. It's been busy. So definitely a nice place to be on a day off.”

The Leafs take on the Devils who are also a top team, currently No. 2 in the Metropolitan Division with 38 points. The Leafs have 34 points from 27 games and sit two points behind the Panthers for the top of the lead of the Pacific Division.