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PHT Morning Skate: Matthews to play first game against hometown team

Toronto Maple Leafs v Boston Bruins

BOSTON, MA - DECEMBER 10: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrates with teammates after scoring against the Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden on December 10, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

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-Auston Matthews, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft and one of the early season frontrunners for the Calder Trophy, will get his first opportunity to play his first game against his hometown team, the Arizona Coyotes, on Thursday night when they pay a visit to Toronto. Matthews grew up going to Coyotes games where he watched players like Shane Doan and Danny Briere, two of his favorites. Now he gets an opportunity to actually play in an NHL game against Doan. “Just being able to get to know him the past couple of years, the type of guy he is, the type of player he is and person he is in the community, it’s awesome,” said Matthews. [Toronto Sun]

-Bruins defenseman Kevin Miller suffered an upper body injury on Wednesday night. Coach Claude Julien had no update on his status immediately after the game. He exited the game after the second period and did not return. [Boston Globe]

- Vancouver Canucks prospect Brock Boeser will not play in the World Junior championships for team USA because of wrist surgery that will sideline him until January. Boeser has 16 points in 13 games for the University of North Dakota this season. He was the Canucks’ first-round pick, No. 15 overall, in 2015. [The Province]

-Former NHL goalie Anders Lindback has signed a contract with Rogle BK in Sweden. He played four games this season with the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League. He spent parts of six seasons in the NHL with the Nashville Predators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Dallas Stars, Buffalo Sabres, and Arizona Coyotes. [Rogle BK]

-Ottawa Senators forward Chris Neil played in his 1,000th NHL game on Wednesday night. A lot of those games were Battle of Ontario games against the Senators’ fierce rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Listen to former Maple Leafs forward Darcy Tucker talking about Neil and some of his encounters with him on the ice. [TSN]

-Wednesday was the one-year anniversary of the Penguins trading Rob Scuderi to the Chicago Blackhawks for Trevor Daley. It turned out to be one of the moves that helped put them on a path to win the Stanley Cup. [Pensburgh]

-The Penguins extended their winning streak to seven games on Wednesday thanks to Bryan Rust’s overtime goal. You can watch the highlights of that game right here. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Flyers extended their winning streak to 10 games with a win over the Colorado Avalanche.