Auston Matthews returned to the Maple Leafs lineup on Wednesday night, suiting up for the first time in a month as Toronto played host to the San Jose Sharks. It didn't take long for him to remind everyone of the skill level he brings to the ice on a nightly basis.

After getting off to a red hot start (10 goals in 11 games) in October, Matthews missed 14 games following a shoulder injury suffered in an October 27th game against the Winnipeg Jets. He was medically cleared to compete on Wednesday night, and compete he did. The 21-year-old center tallied two goals and an assist in his return to the ice, helping push the Leafs to a 5-2 win over the Sharks and earning First Star honors in the process.

Matthews' first point came just over three and a half minutes into the first period when he picked up the primary assist on John Tavares' power play goal. San Jose came into the night with the league's best penalty kill percentage, but you certainly wouldn't have known it watching them go up against the Leafs. Just look at the coverage on this sequence; leaving Matthews and Tavares wide open in front of the net is going to end badly almost every time.

Matthews picked up a goal of his own shortly thereafter, unleashing this ruthless snipe on the power play later in the first period. All you need to do is listen to this one to know that the goalie had no shot. Such a satisfying ping.

Matthews capped off his night with a net-front deflection in the third period.

In total, he logged a modest 14:56 TOI (1:57 coming on the man-advantage) as Mike Babcock looks to ease him back into action. He certainly made the most of his minutes, and his two goals now bring his season total to 12 in as many games. Of those 12 games he's played thus far in the year, he's had multi-point efforts in eight of them.

Next up for the Maple Leafs is a matchup against the Wild in Minnesota on Saturday, and that game can be streamed on fuboTV (try for free).