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SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

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TSN Toronto reporter Mark Masters checks in with news and notes from Maple Leafs practices and game-day skates. The Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames skated at the Air Canada Centre ahead of tonight's game.

- After losing 7-3 on home ice against the Oilers on Saturday, it was a sombre travel day on Sunday for the Flames. "We were down," admitted head coach Glen Gulutzan. "I could tell yesterday on the plane ride over. It was quiet. Everyone's a little bit embarrassed for sure and that could be a good thing, because we have to bounce back and have some resolve and come to play hard." The Flames have lost four of five overall and are hoping a road swing through Eastern Canada will help turn the tide. "Usually, we've had some success on the road. We know what we're in for with Toronto and we got to be ready to sharpen our skates and be ready to skate." The Flames beat the Leafs 3-0 in their first meeting of the season on Nov. 30 at the Saddledome, but Gulutzan doesn't think his group played particularly well on that night after scoring three goals early in the first period. What’s the recipe for success tonight? "In the offensive zone we're going to have to hold pucks and try to wear them down and that's the only way you can really slow them down," the coach noted.

- The Flames have nine players from Ontario and the hope is that may inspire a feisty performance. "I hope they have energy," Gulutzan said. "Anybody coming home and you got your mom and dad in the stands – especially dad, the guy who's not afraid to tell you if you're bad or good – you usually play a little better in front of them so I hope we have a lot of juice with our Ontario boys." Toronto head coach Mike Babcock has noticed that local kids are fired up to play at the Air Canada Centre and hopes that may lead to some success for the Leafs off the ice. "I'm hoping it's going to lead to players wanting to come here one day," Babcock said. "Obviously, if you got a good enough team and you got players from this area, why wouldn't you play close to home if it's a good environment? Toronto's a great, great place, great city. We're going to have a real good team here. Great place to play. It's like anything, when you're around your family you want to impress them; you don't want to be a dog. But I think it'll be good for us too. We want to get everyone's best game every single night. It makes you a better team."

- Morgan Rielly did not participate in Toronto's morning skate, but was on the ice on his own earlier. The team's top defenceman will miss a third straight game tonight, but hasn't been ruled out for the final two games before the all-star break. "If he's ready to play, we'll play him," Babcock said. The Leafs travel to Detroit to face the Red Wings on Wednesday, then play the Flyers in Philadelphia on Thursday.

- With both the Leafs and Flames boasting some highly skilled young players, Babcock was asked what the key to having a lengthy career is. "Be a good pro. So, what's a good pro? Everyone thinks that's if you make money playing the game, but it's not. It's about doing it right every single day and living right, eating right, partying at night right, choosing the right spouse, doing all the things in life that makes everybody successful in any walk of life. It's just being a good human being and being diligent about what you do and having enough drive train to do it every day, but it's hard."

- Brett Kulak will play his first NHL game since Nov. 27, 2016. The Flames defenceman has been a healthy scratch in six straight games since being recalled from the minors. "I want to see some jump," said Gulutzan. "I want to see some physicality. I want to see him excited to play. As far as how he has to
play, just a real simple puck-moving game and defend well so not putting a lot of expectations on him.”

- Mitch Marner has just two shots on net in the last five games and admits he's trying to adopt more of a "shooting mentality." What does that mean? "Throwing the puck in more," the teenager explained, "putting myself in better shooting situations than passing situations and just kind of not throwing the puck away and putting it on net more." Marner leads all rookies with 27 assists this season while playing on a line with Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk. Is he deferring to the veterans too much? "I don't think he defers," Babcock said. "I just think in junior you can stickhandle around one more guy and get a little closer and in the NHL you can't stickhandle around that guy. So, last game when he had those opportunities he passed on them. Most goals in the NHL are scored on second chances so to be able to get a second chance you got to shoot on the first one."

- Per usual, the Leafs worked on shootout moves at the end of the morning skate. William Nylander was the only player to convert on his chance. Bozak, van Riemsdyk, Nazem Kadri, Connor Brown, Auston Matthews, Marner and Nikita Soshnikov were all stopped on their one attempt by Curtis McElhinney. Toronto is 1-6 in shootouts this season.

* Lines at Leafs morning skate:

Hyman-Matthews-Brown
Komarov-Kadri-Nylander
van Riemsdyk-Bozak-Marner
Martin-Gauthier-Soshnikov
Leivo, Smith

Gardiner-Carrick
Marincin-Zaitsev
Hunwick-Polak
Corrado

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* Lines at Flames morning skate:

Gaudreau-Monahan-Chiasson
Tkachuk-Backlund-Frolik
Versteeg-Bennett-Brouwer
Bouma-Stajan-Hamilton
Ferland

Giordano-Hamilton
Brodie-Wideman
Kulak-Engelland
Jokipakka

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