Auston Matthews missed Saturday's preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens, which the Toronto Maple Leafs lost 4-2. The team was quick to clarify that his absence was just an usual rest day.Auston Matthews' persistent upper-body injury reduced him to just 67 games last season. With that in consideration, the Toronto media asked coach Craig Berube whether the star center was 100% healthy heading into the season."He's been extremely good in camp, like, very good with how he looks, his effort, his competitiveness & things like that," Berube said. "He's going to get another game, but I'm not too worried about getting a certain amount of games in."Resting Matthews allowed Berube to test out different line combinations. In the preseason appearances, Matthews was playing from the center alongside Matthews Knies and Max Domi. On Saturday, Domi filled Matthews' place through the middle, while Nick Robertson played on the wings.Sorting out the top two lines is important for the Leafs after Mitch Marner's departure, as he left the club after nine seasons, signing an eight-year, $96 million contract with the Vegas Golden Knights.The second line featured John Tavares and William Nylander with Calle Jarnkrok in place of Bobby McMann on the wing. A new line combination saw Mattias Macelli, Dakota Joshua and Nic Roy, all three of whom were traded to the Leafs as they seek to improve their physicality.Despite the change in strategy, the Leafs fell 2-0 behind before John Tavares cut Montreal's lead in half on a power play goal. However, the Maple Leafs couldn't sustain the momentum, with Lane Hutson making it 3-1 and Sean Farrell putting up an insurance goal. William Nylander got a consolation in the final period for Toronto.Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube calls the loss a preseason gameMaple Leafs coach Craig Berube brushed aside any concerns about his team's loss and called it one of the preseason games, where the Leafs' intensity was down."It is one of those preseason games," Berube said. "Montreal worked hard and played a simple game. We kind of complicate things at times. That is what you get sometimes in preseason games."The Leafs won their first preseason game against the Ottawa Senators before losing the next one against the same team in overtime. They demolished the Canadiens 7-2 in their previous matchup on Thursday. The Leafs will face the Detroit Red Wings in their final two games of the season, starting Thursday.