TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews returned to the lineup Saturday night after missing nine games due to an upper-body injury.
Matthews was activated off injured reserve prior to the Maple Leafs game against the Tampa Bay Lightning and finished with a pair of assists. Matthews last played on Nov. 3 against Minnesota.
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Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh (27) shoves Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) off the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) battles with Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Nick Perbix (48) for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman J.J. Moser (90) and Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) battle for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) gets ahead of Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Brandon Hagel (38) and center Anthony Cirelli (71) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
“I felt fine, I think as the game went on I felt a little bit better,” Matthews said. “I still felt a little bit rusty, but I thought our line played pretty solid all around and simple for the most part.’’
In his career, Matthews now has 13 goals and six assists in 15 games when returning to the lineup. Toronto has a record of 9-3-3 in those 15 games.
“Obviously, it feels good to chip in on some goals there, especially early on,’’ he said. “I just want to continue to go forward and get better each game.”
In addition to his two assists, Matthews won 16 of 24 faceoffs, finished as a plus-2 with two shots on goal and registered two takeaways.
“I thought he was strong on pucks and moved well out there,” Toronto coach Craig Berube said. “He did a lot of good things.”
Toronto had a record of 7-2 without Matthews.
Prior to the injury, Matthews had five goals and six assists in 13 games. Though he was listed as day-to-day by the team throughout the process, it was revealed that he recently spent time in Germany working with a specialist to try to prevent the injury from recurring once he was back on the ice.
Matthews has already been named to the Team USA roster for the Four Nations Faceoff, which will be held in February.
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Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Ryan McDonagh (27) shoves Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) off the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) battles with Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Nick Perbix (48) for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman J.J. Moser (90) and Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) battle for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) gets ahead of Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Brandon Hagel (38) and center Anthony Cirelli (71) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Fighting raged Saturday morning along the border of Thailand and Cambodia, even after U.S. President Donald Trump, acting as a mediator, declared that he had won agreement from both countries for a new ceasefire.
Thai officials said they did not agree to a ceasefire. Cambodia has not commented directly on Trump’s claim, but its defense ministry said Thai jets carried out airstrikes Saturday morning.
Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said Saturday that some of Trump's remarks didn't “reflect an accurate understanding of the situation.”
He said Trump’s characterization of a land mine explosion that wounded Thai soldiers as a “roadside accident” was inaccurate, and did not reflect Thailand's position that it was a deliberate act of aggression.
Sihasak said that Trump’s willingness to credit what may be “information from sources that deliberately distorted the facts” instead of believing Thailand hurt the feelings of the Thai people “because we consider ourselves — we are proud, in fact — to be the oldest treaty ally of the United States in the region.”
The latest large-scale fighting was set off by a skirmish on Dec. 7 that wounded two Thai soldiers and derailed a ceasefire promoted by Trump that ended five days of earlier combat in July over longstanding territorial disputes.
The July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalized in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia that Trump attended.
More than two dozen people on both sides of the border have officially been reported killed in this past week’s fighting, while more than half a million have been displaced.
The Thai military acknowledged 15 of its troops died during the fighting, and estimated earlier this week that there have been 165 fatalities among Cambodian soldiers. Cambodia has not announced military casualties, but has said at least 11 civilians have been killed and more than six dozen wounded.
Trump, after speaking to Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, announced on Friday an agreement to restart the ceasefire.
“They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me, and them, with the help of the Great Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post.
Trump’s claim came after midnight in Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister Anutin had, after his call with Trump, said he had explained Thailand’s reasons for fighting and said peace would depend on Cambodia ceasing its attacks first.
The Thai foreign ministry later explicitly disputed Trump’s claim that a ceasefire had been reached. Anutin's busy day on Friday included dissolving Parliament, so new elections could be held early next year.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, in comments posted early Saturday morning, also made no mention of a ceasefire.
Hun Manet said he held phone conversations on Friday night with Trump, and a night earlier with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and thanked both “for their continuous efforts to achieve a long-lasting peace between Cambodia and Thailand.”
“Cambodia is ready to cooperate in any way that is needed," Hun Manet wrote.
Anwar later posted on social media that he was urging the two sides to implement a ceasefire on Saturday night. Cambodia's prime minister, also posting online, endorsed the initiative, which included having Malaysia and the United States help monitor it. However, Thai Prime Minister Anutin denied that his country was even in negotiations over the proposal.
Thailand has been carrying out airstrikes on what it says are strictly military targets, while Cambodia has been firing thousands of medium-range BM-21 rockets that have caused havoc but relatively few casualties.
BM-21 rocket launchers can fire up to 40 rockets at a time with a range of 30-40 kilometers (19-25 miles). These rockets cannot be precisely targeted and have landed largely in areas from where most people have already been evacuated.
However, the Thai army announced Saturday that BM-21 rockets had hit a civilian area in Sisaket province, seriously injuring two civilians who had heard warning sirens and had been running toward a bunker for safety.
Thailand's navy was also reported by both sides' militaries to have joined the fighting on Saturday morning, with a warship in the Gulf of Thailand shelling Cambodia's southwestern province of Koh Kong. Each side said the other opened fire first.
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Peck reported from Bangkok. Sopheng Cheang in Serei Saophoan, Cambodia, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
A man sits in a tent as he takes refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing home following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
An evacuee cooks soup as she takes refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing home following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
An evacuee tastes soup as she takes refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing from home following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Evacuees cook food as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Children raise their hands while receiving donation from charity as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Evacuees wait to receive donation from local charity as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Village security volunteers and resident run into shelter while the blasts sounded too close in Buriram province, Thailand, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, following renewed border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
