The Maple Leafs held a media availability on Saturday at the Ford Performance Centre. <\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
The Leafs did not like their performance in Friday\u2019s 6-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights<\/a> on Friday. The league-leading Colorado Avalanche<\/a> will be visiting Scotiabank Arena on Sunday. So, why did the team cancel Saturday\u2019s practice? <\/p>\n \u201cPlayed yesterday,\u201d coach Craig Berube<\/a> said. \u201cPlay tomorrow, practice Monday [and then] play Tuesday. That\u2019s why.\u201d<\/p>\n The Leafs are struggling to keep pace in the playoff race and the schedule is unrelenting.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been certain times in games, and not the full game, but we look like we lack some energy,\u201d Berube said. <\/p>\n After a pause, the coach cut off a follow-up question and continued his answer. <\/p>\n \u201cBut that\u2019s not an excuse,\u201d he stressed. \u201cLike, I mean, that\u2019s mental for me. You got to fight through it. I\u2019m not going to sit here and make excuses for our team or myself. We got to grind through it. This is what I talk about. We gotta grind. It\u2019s a grinding time and grind through it.\u201d<\/p>\n Toronto has dropped the first three games (0-2-1) of a crucial five-game homestand. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of hockey,\u201d said captain Auston Matthews<\/a>, who has finished minus-one in all three games this week. \u201cIt\u2019s obviously a grind right now. It\u2019s a grind for everybody. I mean, there\u2019s no excuses. We\u2019ve got to find a way to find that jump and that energy within our group for a full 60 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not getting any easier. The Leafs will play six games in five different cities over the next 10 days heading into the Olympic break.<\/p>\n \u201cThe schedule and everything, we don\u2019t want to use that as an excuse,\u201d said defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson<\/a>. \u201cBut I think you got to realize maybe you have to simplify it a little bit and obviously chipping pucks in and doing the little things.\u201d<\/p>\n The Leafs seemed to be doing a lot of those little things well during a recent 2-1-1 road trip, which included a win in Denver. <\/p>\n \u201cSometimes when you come home, you want to be a little bit too cute,\u201d Ekman-Larsson said.<\/p>\n Toronto entered Saturday\u2019s slate of games trailing the Boston Bruins<\/a> by three points in the race for the final Wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. <\/p>\n \u201cThe position we\u2019re in right now, we have to be a little bit more desperate than what we were in the third period and come out with a little bit more jump,\u201d Ekman-Larsson said. <\/p>\n After falling behind 4-1 on Friday night, the Leafs pulled within one goal thanks to a frantic second period comeback. But then Toronto got outshot 14-5 and outscored 2-0 in the final frame. <\/p>\n Matthews, who has been held without a point in consecutive games for the first time since before Christmas, blames poor execution. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re chasing it a lot and turning pucks over and spending more time in your D zone, obviously it all kind of wears down on you throughout the game,\u201d Matthews noted. <\/p>\n \u201cWe make the game harder on ourselves at times when we don\u2019t need to,\u201d Berube added.<\/p>\n With an afternoon start (1:30 p.m.) on Sunday, the Leafs will not hold a morning skate. <\/p>\n On Monday, the Leafs will host their annual open-to-the-public practice. It is usually held outside at a community rink, but this year will be indoors at the Mattamy Athletic Centre due to the cold and snowy weather expected. Nonetheless, it won\u2019t be a regular workout. Instead, it will feature a 3-on-3 tournament with WWE stars involved as guest coaches. <\/p>\n The Leafs will host the surging Buffalo Sabres<\/a> on Tuesday. <\/p>\n Wednesday will be a travel day as the team heads out West where they will open a four-game trip against the Seattle Kraken<\/a> on Thursday night. <\/p>\n With no real practice time on the horizon, how can the coaching staff ensure the team\u2019s structure remains sharp. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard,\u201d Berube admitted. \u201cIt\u2019s video, right? We watch video and look at it and look at our structure in video.\u201d<\/p>\n ‘It’s a grinding time’: Berube cancels practice as Leafs struggle to find energy Coming off a 6-3 loss to the Golden Knights, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube explains why he cancelled practice Saturday, while the Leafs discuss the importance of trying to find energy amid a tough schedule. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n William Nylander<\/a> returned to the ice on Saturday for the first time since aggravating a groin injury during a game on Jan. 15 in Las Vegas. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll see where he progresses and how he felt,\u201d Berube said. \u201cI haven\u2019t talked to the trainers yet or him after the skate. We\u2019ll see how he felt. Hopefully he can keep getting on the ice here and be ready to go. I can\u2019t give you a timeline on that yet.\u201d<\/p>\n Nylander spent about 20 minutes on the ice working with Denver Manderson from the team\u2019s player development staff. <\/p>\n \u201cYou can definitely see he\u2019s desperate to get out there and get on the ice,\u201d Matthews said. \u201cHe\u2019s taking his time, though, as well, and being smart and making sure that he feels like he\u2019s ready to go and go full tilt when he\u2019s back and playing. So, yeah, it\u2019s been good. It\u2019s good to see him on the ice for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite missing 14 games this season, Nylander continues to lead the Leafs in scoring with 48 points. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure it\u2019s tough,\u201d Ekman-Larsson said. \u201cYou want to play, you want to help your team, but sometimes you got to listen to your body. You got to manage it and be smart about it at the same time so you don\u2019t miss even more games. But, yeah, I\u2019m sure it\u2019s tough for him. We want him back and he\u2019s a big part of this organization.\u201d<\/p>\n Leafs Ice Chips: Nylander back on the ice, but no timeline available yet There was some good news on the Maple Leafs’ injury front Saturday as William Nylander was back on the ice for the first time since aggravating a groin injury on Jan. 15 in Las Vegas. TSN’s Mark Masters has more. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Dakota Joshua<\/a> joined Nylander for the session on Saturday. It was the winger\u2019s first skate since suffering a lacerated kidney during a game in Detroit on Dec. 28. <\/p>\n \u201cI know he skated, but he\u2019s still a ways away,\u201d Berube said. \u201cIt\u2019s not like he\u2019s close.\u201d<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n The Leafs fell behind 2-0 early on Friday night against a Golden Knights team that had played the previous night in Boston. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been tough to find that energy, especially early on in games,\u201d said Matthews. \u201cLast night was just another example. We just came out flat. They were obviously ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n The Knights seemed to draw inspiration from the return of Mitch Marner to Toronto. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s one of our own,\u201d said Vegas captain Mark Stone<\/a>, who scored twice, including an empty-net goal. \u201cWe play for each other. We always have, we always will. It\u2019s the motto of our locker room. So we definitely wanted to win it. I wanted to win it for him.\u201d<\/p>\n The Leafs, meanwhile, downplayed the return of Marner, who spent nine seasons with the franchise before opting to leave Toronto this past summer via a sign-and-trade deal. <\/p>\n Longest-serving Leaf Morgan Rielly<\/a> called it \u201cjust another game\u201d on Friday morning. An important game in terms of gathering points, the defenceman said, but not more so than any other game right now. <\/p>\n But it did feel different in the building as Marner was booed every time he touched the puck. He also received a standing ovation during a video tribute in the first period. <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s kind of what you expected,\u201d Matthews said. \u201cIt was nice that there were some cheers for him during the video tribute and all that stuff. I think it was kind of done the right way. You know that there\u2019s going to be the boos when he\u2019s on the ice and has the puck and all that stuff like that. I think it\u2019s pretty expected. You\u2019ve kind of seen it with other guys who have been in similar situations and stuff like that. I thought it was a good atmosphere. It was fun.\u201d<\/p>\n Marner admitted to feeling relieved afterwards. \u201cI don\u2019t have to talk about it anymore,\u201d he said with a grin. \u201cI\u2019m sure those guys are relieved not having to talk about it too.\u201d<\/p>\n Marner admitted to feeling relieved afterwards. \u201cI don\u2019t have to talk about it anymore,\u201d he said with a grin. \u201cI\u2019m sure those guys are relieved not having to talk about it too.\u201d<\/p>\n ‘He’s one of our own’: Stone, Knights were motivated to win for Marner Golden Knights captain Mark Stone shares how motivated the team was to get the win for Mitch Marner in his return to Toronto, while Marner explains how much he appreciates the effort from his teammates. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n After the game, Marner acknowledged that he anticipated being booed. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was fine,\u201d he said. \u201cI knew it was going to come. Yeah, the cheering when I was going off was pretty funny. I didn\u2019t see that one coming. The booing, when I had it, was what I expected. I just tried to play through it, play with the puck, play my game and do my thing out there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA little bit of boos here and there, but it wasn\u2019t too loud, if I\u2019m honest with you,\u201d said defenceman Rasmus Andersson<\/a>, who made his Knights debut on Saturday. <\/p>\n \u201cThe fans were great,\u201d said Stone. \u201cGave him a great ovation that he deserved… Once the puck dropped you\u2019re expecting boos, but they tipped their cap to what he did for this organization, which was awesome to see.\u201d<\/p>\n Bruce Cassidy on Mitch Marner’s return: <\/p>\n “The Leafs handled it very well. It was a great tribute & I think the fans came around in the end. There were some that voiced their displeasure … I thought he handled it well & the fans did”@TSN_Sports<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Mark Masters (@markhmasters) January 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Marner did not hit the scoresheet on Saturday and finished with one shot on net and one takeaway in 17 minutes and 25 seconds of ice time. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was interesting the whole night,\u201d Marner said. \u201cI really appreciated the love and support throughout the tribute video. I still got a lot of love for these fans.\u201d<\/p>\n Matthews on Marner’s return to Toronto: ‘Nice that there were some cheers’ Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews discusses the reception Mitch Marner received in his return to Toronto Friday night and says he’s happy that Leafs Nation gave him some cheers. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n If the Leafs didn\u2019t draw motivation from Marner\u2019s return, they could have tried to rally around Anthony Stolarz<\/a>, who returned to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 11. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s concerning,\u201d centre Scott Laughton<\/a> said of the lack of urgency. \u201cThey come in off probably a late night. We know how that feels. Stolie\u2019s first game in a month, two months, and that\u2019s what we put up.\u201d<\/p>\n Stolarz, who had been dealing with what he called a \u201cnerve\u201d issue, allowed five goals on 30 shots and showed signs of rust while adjusting to the speed of the game. <\/p>\n \u201cYou can obviously do your best to replicate that in practice, but once you get out there in a game at the NHL level, the tempo of the play is a lot quicker,\u201d Stolarz noted. \u201cAnd, especially early on, I was a little behind. As the game wore on, I kind of thought I got a little more comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe still got to get him going,\u201d Berube said. \u201cHe hasn\u2019t had a lot of work yet, right? And, again, it\u2019s hard because we don\u2019t practice a whole lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Stolarz went down to the American Hockey League for a couple practices with the Toronto Marlies earlier in the week as part of a conditioning stint. <\/p>\n \u201cA few days ago I started to feel really good,\u201d the 32-year-old said. \u201cHaving the opportunity to go down with the Marlies and get those full practices in, kind of a little longer than our practices are … I felt really good after that. So I thought it was time to get activated and come back.\u201d<\/p>\n Why didn\u2019t Stolarz play a game in the AHL to shake off the understandable rust he showed on Friday?<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not my call,\u201d Berube said. <\/p>\n Joseph Woll<\/a>, who beat the Avalanche earlier this month, will get the start on Sunday. <\/p>\n ‘Got to get him going’: Leafs looking to get Stolarz up to speed following long layoff After returning against the Golden Knights Friday night, Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz, who had been out since Nov. 11 with an upper-body injury, talks about trying to shake the rust off and get back up the speed following a long layoff. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n After leaving Wednesday\u2019s game early with a lower-body injury, Ekman-Larsson played a game high 24 minutes and 11 seconds on Friday. <\/p>\n \u201cYou want to make sure that it\u2019s nothing too bad and you\u2019re going to miss a bunch of games,\u201d Ekman-Larsson said. \u201cI felt good the next day and was able to play. So, it was good.\u201d<\/p>\n Ekman-Larsson has suited up in all 51 games for the Leafs this season. <\/p>\n \u201cJust to have guys that put it all out there and sacrificing for the team, it obviously means a lot,\u201d Matthews said. \u201cIt definitely doesn\u2019t go unnoticed. He\u2019s battling out there. He plays a lot of minutes for us, plays against top lines, and plays in every single situation. He\u2019s obviously very important, so it\u2019s great to have him out there.\u201d<\/p>\n