The Maple Leafs held a full morning skate at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Thursday. <\/p>\n
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After spending the first nine seasons of his career playing for his hometown team, Mitch Marner will face the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> for the very first time on Thursday. <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think I got to look at it any different,\u201d the Golden Knights forward told reporters after scoring in Vegas\u2019 overtime win in Los Angeles on Wednesday night. \u201cJust look at it as another hockey game. Just try to go out there and do my thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Marner\u2019s old friends in the Leafs dressing room are also doing their best to downplay this much-anticipated reunion. <\/p>\n \u201cIt will obviously be a little bit different but, at the end of the day, it\u2019s a hockey game,\u201d said centre Auston Matthews<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s a good team on the other side, and we\u2019re looking to get back on track ourselves, so it\u2019s an important one.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, it\u2019s just another game, really,\u201d said Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019ll see [what it\u2019s like] once we get out there, but we\u2019re not thinking about it much.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be a little different but, I mean, everyone has been through the league and changes happen every year,\u201d said centre John Tavares<\/a>. \u201cNot the first time we\u2019re playing against a former player.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, Marner is not just a former player. He is the sixth-leading scorer in franchise history, who became a popular teammate and polarizing figure in the centre of the hockey universe. <\/p>\n \u201cHe was a big part of things here and you develop a close relationship,\u201d Tavares said. \u201cBut we\u2019re obviously in the midst of a grind here in January, a lot of games, and a lot of key points and things that are important for us to focus on.\u201d<\/p>\n ‘Just do my thing’: Marner maintains focus ahead of first game against Leafs ‘brothers’ Mitch Marner will face the Leafs for the first time on Thursday in Las Vegas. “I don’t think I got to look at it any different,” the Golden Knight winger said. “Just look at it as another hockey game. I just try to go out there and do my thing.”\n <\/p>\n Matthews, Rielly and winger William Nylander<\/a> were teammates with Marner for all nine of his seasons in Toronto. Tavares was teammates with Marner for seven years. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve checked in with them throughout the year,\u201d Marner told reporters. \u201cI\u2019m still, obviously, very good buddies with a lot of them. I checked in with them just to see how they\u2019re doing, how their families are doing, talk to them over Christmas and the holidays. Like I said, got really close with a lot of them there and like brothers. But, yeah, it hasn\u2019t been too much talk about hockey, really.\u201d<\/p>\n Marner is playing in a different time zone and the schedule this season is condensed because of the Olympics, so there isn\u2019t much time to catch up. <\/p>\n \u201cHe reached out when I scored my 500th [goal] and I reached out to him once the Olympic team was announced,\u201d said Tavares. \u201cOther than that, not really [much contact] over the last number of weeks.\u201d <\/p>\n Marner reached out to Matthews when he broke the Leafs franchise goals record earlier this month. <\/p>\n \u201cWe definitely keep in touch a pretty decent amount,\u201d Matthews said. \u201cHe\u2019s always going to be a really close friend.\u201d<\/p>\n Leafs share how strange it will be facing Marner for the first time The Leafs share how strange it will be facing Mitch Marner for the first time since he was sent to the Golden Knights in the summer in a sign-and-trade, and explain how it’s been adjustment playing without the superstar this season. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Matthews and Marner factored on the same goal 268 times during their nine seasons together, which is the most by any duo in Leafs history. <\/p>\n \u201cMatty and him played together for a long time,\u201d said Leafs coach Craig Berube<\/a>. \u201cI mean there\u2019s always an adjustment.\u201d<\/p>\n Matthews got off to a slow start this season relative to his lofty standards, but the Arizona native downplayed the idea that he needed time to adapt to life without Marner. <\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t play with him my whole, entire time here,\u201d Matthews stressed. \u201cSo, I mean, there\u2019s always adjustments when you\u2019re playing with different guys.\u201d<\/p>\n Matthews is heating up since Christmas with eight goals and six assists in nine games. He\u2019s holding onto pucks more, which is helping. <\/p>\n \u201cI think confidence can have a lot to do with that,\u201d Matthews said. \u201cI think over the last month or so, I just felt like I\u2019ve had the puck a lot in the middle of the ice where I want it with speed.\u201d<\/p>\n Have the Leafs finally adjusted to life without Marner? TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button and TSN Hockey analyst Jamie McLennan join Domino’s That’s Hockey to share how they would grade Mitch Marner’s first half of the season with the Golden Knights, and if they feel the Leafs have finally adjusted to life without Marner. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Knights coach Bruce Cassidy<\/a> is planning to boost Marner\u2019s ice time a bit on Thursday despite the back-to-back situation. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll use them like we usually do, and hopefully get him a few extra shifts here and there, because I\u2019m sure he\u2019s going to be highly motivated,\u201d the Golden Knights coach told reporters. \u201cBut sometimes it goes the other way and you want to do too much. Hopefully he just goes out and plays this game.\u201d<\/p>\n Cassidy urged Marner to check in with Mark Stone<\/a> and Jack Eichel<\/a>, who experienced similar reunion games with the Ottawa Senators<\/a> and Buffalo Sabres<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s lots of guys he can bounce ideas off,\u201d the coach noted. <\/p>\n With William Karlsson<\/a> out, Cassidy is currently deploying Marner as the team\u2019s second-line centre. Marner never played down the middle in Toronto. <\/p>\n \u201cI mean, he can kind of do it all, right,\u201d Matthews said. \u201cHe played on the back end for us at times and stuff like that. There\u2019s not really any doubt in my mind that he can, you know, succeed in that position as well.\u201d<\/p>\n The Knights did not hold a media availability on Thursday prior to the game. <\/p>\n Early Trading: What to expect in Marner’s first game against Maple Leafs? TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger joins Gino Reda to discuss Mitch Marner’s first game against the Maple Leafs, where the Rangers go from here after the team got jeered following their home loss to the Senators and the Flames’ options on the trade market. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n The Knights will be fired up to win Thursday\u2019s game for Marner, but the Leafs will be feeling much the same way when it comes to Nicolas Roy<\/a>, who was acquired in the summer sign-and-trade deal. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s always juice both ways,\u201d said Berube. \u201cSame as having Royzy on our side, him coming back and playing against his old team.\u201d<\/p>\n Roy led the stretch at the end of Toronto\u2019s skate and did a hot lap around the rink afterwards much to the delight of teammates. <\/p>\n \u201cIt feels weird to be back, being in this locker room, but really excited,\u201d the 28-year-old centre said. \u201cI had so many good memories here. Just looking around the building, seeing some familiar faces, really exciting. It should be fun tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n Roy played six seasons in Vegas and helped the Knights win the Stanley Cup in 2023. He will be honoured with a video tribute in the first period. <\/p>\n \u201cI try not to think too much about it,\u201d he said. \u201cAlready so much excitement around the game … Just gonna try to enjoy the moment tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n ‘I had so many good memories here’: Roy excited for his return to Vegas After being acquired by the Leafs in the Mitch Marner sign-and-trade deal in the summer, Nicolas Roy explains how excited he is to return to Vegas tonight to face his former team for the first time.\n <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n The Knights have won five straight games to build a two-point lead atop the Pacific Division. <\/p>\n The Leafs are aiming to get back on track after seeing their 10-game point streak (8-0-2) come to an end on Tuesday. Toronto suffered its most lopsided loss of the season in Utah where they fell 6-1. <\/p>\n \u201cOur puck play wasn\u2019t very good,\u201d the coach said. \u201cOur routes weren\u2019t very good in the game. You could tell that mentally we weren\u2019t sharp. And I get the physical side of things because you travelled and it was a hard game in Colorado [on Monday] and I get all that, but mentally we weren\u2019t sharp in the game and it caused a lot of issues.\u201d<\/p>\n The Leafs started the road trip with an emotional overtime win in Colorado on Monday night. <\/p>\n \u201cWe just got to come out with some jump,\u201d said Matthews. \u201cWe were a little bit flat coming out in Utah. There\u2019s no excuses with the travel and stuff like that, but it just didn\u2019t really feel like we had that juice. We had a day off, great skate this morning, and we just got to make sure that we come out tonight, drop of the puck, and make sure that we got the juice on the bench, on the ice, and just try to roll all four lines and keep it going.\u201d<\/p>\n Leafs Ice Chips: Urgency to get back on track The Maple Leafs are looking to get back on track tonight against the Golden Knights following a 6-1 loss to the Mammoth on Tuesday night which snapped Toronto’s 10-game point streak. Mark Masters has more. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n The Leafs had a golden chance to tie the game on Tuesday night early in the second period when Tavares broke in on a breakaway. But the veteran pivot shot the puck right into the glove of Karel Vejmelka<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI probably just rushed my shot a little bit,\u201d he explained. \u201cI thought maybe he might drop his hand. Obviously, he clearly didn\u2019t. Just a misread by me. I had more time than [I thought]. So, yeah, just learn from it and be ready for the next chance.\u201d<\/p>\n Vejmelka is among the rare right-catching goalies in the league. <\/p>\n \u201cIt is different,\u201d Tavares acknowledged. \u201cBut, I mean, I think I\u2019ve been through it enough that you feel pretty good about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Tavares pointed out that he beat Vejmelka high on the glove side during a game in Arizona two years ago, which may have been in the back of his mind. <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if that played into it a little bit, just thinking he might drop his hand, but yeah, he didn\u2019t,\u201d Tavares said. <\/p>\n Left-catching Adin Hill<\/a> was activated off injured reserve on Thursday and is expected to get the start for the Knights. Tavares leads all Leafs with two goals in seven career games against Hill. <\/p>\n Joseph Woll<\/a> is the projected starter for the Leafs. <\/p>\n ‘Just rushed my shot’: Tavares breaks down breakaway miss vs. Mammoth’s Vejmelka Maple Leafs forward John Tavares breaks down his breakaway miss Wednesday night against Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka, who wears his glove on his right hand. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Nick Robertson missed Tuesday\u2019s game after blocking a shot off the inside of his left knee on Monday night in Colorado. <\/p>\n \u201cIt felt like I broke my leg, but I didn\u2019t thankfully,\u201d the winger said. \u201cIt was pretty painful, but it\u2019s part of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n The shot hit Robertson in a spot where there\u2019s no real padding or protection. <\/p>\n \u201cI feel like it hit a nerve or something,\u201d he recalled. \u201cI dropped and couldn\u2019t really move.\u201d<\/p>\n X-rays were negative, but Robertson was dealing with pain and discomfort, which is why he missed the game in Utah. He skated on the third line with Roy and Easton Cowan<\/a> on Thursday morning. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n