Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews stood silently after the 4 Nations Face-Off concluded. Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid won gold for Canada

The Toronto Maple Leafs returned to their NHL scheduling on Saturday night against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes, but the memory of the painful 4 Nations Face-Off tournament loss still lingered for Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews.

Team USA captain Auston Matthews has had a quiet 4 Nations Face-Off so far. In the 4 Nations Face-Off final, Matthews faces an important career signpost.

Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube had a bit of a chuckle on Thursday when he was asked whether he would consider giving captain Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner a rest for Toronto’s first game, on Saturday at home against the Carolina Hurricanes, following the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Alex Steeves scored his first NHL goal as the Toronto Maple Leafs jumped out to an early lead and beat the Carolina Hurricanes 6-3 Saturday night. Pontus Holmberg had two goals and an assist, John Tavares had a goal and an assist and David Kampf and Auston Matthews also scored for Toronto.

Steeves is starting to answer the question of whether he can make an impact in NHL games in the same way he has in the AHL.

Auston Matthews scored his 389th NHL goal to move into a tie for second place in Toronto Maple Leafs history in a 6-3 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday. The Toronto captain scored into an empty net at 18:37 of the third period to tie Darryl Sittler behind only Mats Sundin (420 goals) in Maple Leafs history.