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TSN Toronto reporter Mark Masters checks in daily with news and notes from Maple Leafs practices and game-day skates. The Maple Leafs practised at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Monday. 

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A big challenge for the Maple Leafs on T​uesday night will be finding a way to contain Calgary's red-hot top line of Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan ​and Micheal Ferland. 

"They work to get the puck back," centre Nazem Kadri said. "They’re really dangerous off the rush. We got to try and get above guys. I know they like to skate the puck in with possession so we got to try and hold the blue line and make them dump in as many pucks as possible."

"We’re spending less time in our defensive zone, which is great," Gaudreau noted. "We're making plays off the rush. I think we’re playing well in the offensive zone, getting pucks to the point at times. You know, Ferly’s got a big body, he’s getting in front and he’s skilled as well so just making plays. When we’re getting our chances we’re finding the net so it has been good.” 

In recent years, Kadri and linemate Leo Komarov have found a way to level the shifty Gaudreau with a big hit. In their last meeting last season, Komarov hammered Gaudreau during a Flames power play catching the winger admiring a pass. 

"Obviously, you’re trying to be physical out there," Komarov said, "but nowadays the game is so fast it’s tough to hit guys that hard anymore so, I mean, I don’t think anyone is trying to hit hard an​ymore. You just try to be a little physical. If you get a chance, you battle."

It was two seasons ago that Kadri got Gaudreau with a big hit in the corner and the Flames winger retaliated by slashing the back of Kadri's leg. 

"Yeah, of course, it’s something you remember," Kadri admitted. "But it’s an emotional game, sometimes people do things they regret and I’m the most understanding of that."

The Leafs and Flames will face-off twice in the next eight days so the potential for the games to get feisty is certainly there. But, for his part, Gaudreau insists this is all water under the bridge. He's more interested in the recent history. 

“I think we’ve done a great job the past week, two weeks playing against top lines, playing against shutdown lines who’ve been matching against us so I think we’ve done a good job with that," he said. 

Gaudreau is up to 34 points on the season behind only Steven Stamkos, while Monahan is fourth in the NHL with 14 goals. And after registering just one point in the first seven games, Ferland is coming on strong having scored in seven of the last 10 games. 

"Obviously, that line’s on fire," said head coach Mike Babcock. "Two real heavy guys and a guy who’s flat-out fun to watch and actually fun to pre-scout. He’s doing a lot of good things out there."

While Babcock would like to get Kadri and Komarov out against Gaudreau and company, it will be Glen Gulutzan who enjoys the advantage of last change on Tuesday. The Flames head coach noted he's pretty comfortable with his top guys getting matched against anybody these days. 

“They’re committed to playing both ways," Gulutzan said, "and when you have competitive guys, they accept that challenge. And I did challenge them to start playing against the top guys. They had to play better defensively and when you’re playing against the top players and you’re playing better defensively there’s more chances out there for you ... They’re out there with the other sharks and whoever’s more committed to the 200-foot game wins."

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Kadri and Komarov are pests, even in practice. The pair of long-time linemates and good friends have been chirping each other for weeks now about who's the faster skater. Babcock often runs a pretty tight practice with little deviation from a set schedule and certainly no time for tomfoolery, but at Monday's workout he made an exception calling for a one-lap race of the rink to settle this once and for all. 

Kadri against Komarov. The flashy Canadian against the soft-spoken Finn. The showdown at the Saddledome. And the winner was: Komarov. 

"It has been building for a while," said Komarov, who was grinning ear to ear. "A couple weeks ago we started talking about it. He thinks he’s faster than me so I just had to prove it. If I had lost it would've been tough. Thank God I won."

Kadri, never short on confidence, was left to ponder what went wrong. "Thin air, thick ice," he noted, "next time we’ll do it with a puck and my chances will go up." 

After Komarov's win he was greeted with hoots and hollers and head taps from teammates who had cleared the surface to watch the race play out.

"They’re hard on each other," noted Babcock when asked about Kadri and Komarov. "They abuse each other, which is good entertainment and that led to more entertainment and a little entertainment never killed anybody." 

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The Leafs travelled to Alberta on Sunday so they could hold a workout in Calgary before Tuesday's game. 

"Today was a good practice for us to get in here altitude-wise," Babcock said, "and the ice wasn’t great so it was good work for our guys and we’ll be better tomorrow."​

The extra time on the road is nice from a team-bonding perspective as well. 

"Just getting used to the rink and air and the time change is a bit different," Kadri said. "Sometimes it's tough to fly in and play the next day. It's nice to come out early and obviously the guys get to spend a little more time together and it's good for the team."

The Leafs will also play games in Edmonton (Thursday) and Vancouver (Saturday) this week. 

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One downside of the Sunday evening flight was missing out on watching the Grey Cup. This was less than ideal for Mitch Marner, who has become close with several Argonauts players this season. 

"Tough on the plane, but kept updating in the fourth quarter," Marner said. "You can’t stream it on the plane so checking Twitter and the app. Crazy how it panned out in their favour. Very exciting for the city."

Marner said he texted running back James Wilder Jr. to congratulate him on the win.

"The last game (East Final) against Saskatchewan, we were kind of near their sideline and all the (Saskatchewan) fans were walking by and said, ‘Well, it doesn’t matter when you guys lose the Grey Cup,’ and now we have it in our hands so pretty funny how things turn," Marner said with a smile.  ​

Gulutzan, meanwhile, had a different reaction. He's gotten to know Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson over the years, but opted not to reach out in the wake of this painful defeat. 

"I think any sports guy feels for Calgary," Gulutzan said. "I thought they were in complete control of that game and then it just shows you how one small play – it's so close in that league, in our league – one play can tip the scales the other way so you feel for a team that was in control all game and saw it slip away." 

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* Lines at Monday's practice: 

 

Hyman-Matthews-Brown

Marleau-Kadri-Komarov 

JvR-Bozak-Marner 

Martin-Moore-Nylander

Leivo, Soshnikov 

 

Rielly-Hainsey

Gardiner-Zaitsev 

Borgman-Polak

Carrick

 

Andersen McElhinney