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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 MasterCard Centre in Toronto on Wednesday.

* James van Riemsdyk missed practice on Wednesday a couple days after appearing to suffer a lower-body injury against the Los Angeles Kings. During the third period of Monday's game, van Riemsdyk was hit by Trevor Lewis along the boards and fell awkwardly. He gingerly skated off the ice, but did return to play a few more shifts. 

"We expect him to play tomorrow," said head coach Mike Babcock. "Won't know 100 per cent until tomorrow, but we expect him to play." 

If van Riemsdyk can't go against Carolina, it appears Mitch Marner will get a promotion. The 20-year-old is coming off his finest effort of the season registering two assists against the Kings while skating on the fourth line. On Wednesday, Marner practised in his old spot alongside Tyler Bozak, with Connor Brown shifting over to the left wing. 

Reflecting on his sluggish start, Marner admits he put too much pressure on himself. He was focused on shooting more and perhaps got away from what made him so effective in the first place. 

“I just think, in general, I was throwing away the puck way too much and that was the big thing," he explained. "But last game was a step in the right direction for me, personally, and I just have to keep doing what I was doing last game, moving my feet and keeping the puck.”

What did Bozak notice? 

“Just the way he was moving, the way he was skating," the centre said. "Obviously, he always has a ton of skill, but I think he’s at his best when he gets the puck with a lot of speed and is making plays like that. I saw him winning a lot of battles in the corner, spinning off defenders and making great plays to guys for good opportunities.”

Marner believes the momentum he built during the win over the Kings will carry into Thursday's tilt against the Hurricanes. 

"When you have a great game afterwards it feels nice ... you kind of enjoy the moment a little bit more," he acknowledged.

Marner's upbeat approach, even following his demotion to the fourth line, has impressed teammates. 

“Even when things aren’t going well, he’s a pretty happy guy on the ice keeping guys loose and energetic," Matt Martin said. "It would’ve been easy for him to sulk and be in a bad mood, which generally affects the mood of the whole dressing room, and he’s not that type of kid.”

Marner's mojo, Martin's influence 

* Marner credits Martin for helping him stay positive despite his demotion in the lineup. Both high-energy types, Martin and Marner became fast friends last season despite the eight-year age gap. 

“When we’re away from the rink he’s always inviting me over and talking to me and stuff, so he’s been a big help with everything," Marner said. 

How close are the pair? Well, they had planned to wear a joint costume to the Leafs annual Halloween party before their girlfriends nixed the idea. Martin refused to reveal the details post-game on Monday, so on Wednesday Marner was asked about it.

“Ah, I don’t know if we should," he said while looking over at Martin's stall. "Marty, they want to know our costume." 

Once Martin gave the go ahead, Marner spilled the beans. 

"We were going to be Dr. Evil and Mini Me (from the Austin Powers movies) so it was going to work out pretty funny and it got kiboshed.”

“It would’ve been funny to see that," Auston Matthews said with a big grin, "because Mitchy’s kind of small."

"Actually, Connor Brown came up with it," said Martin with a chuckle. "He had the idea and we tried to run with it, but it got shot down and rightfully so. I don’t think the girls wanted be Fembots.”

Leivo fills in on fourth line​

* While Marner skated with Bozak and Brown at practice, Josh Leivo filled in on the fourth line alongside Dominic Moore and Martin. Babcock was asked how Leivo, a healthy scratch in each game this season, has handled the situation thus far. 

“I think Leivs has been great with that," the coach noted. "We’ve talked about it lots. We’ve had players here, in the past, that were disgruntled and then when they went somewhere else they found out they weren’t NHL players. You know, like, just keep getting better every day. You’re getting paid to get better, getting paid to train, you’re getting paid to get ready and when you get your chance – he’s getting a chance, for sure – be ready and then make sure nobody can take you out. And the beauty of the system is, once you get in, if you play good enough, no one’s taking you out.”

TSN's Kristen Shilton reported on Wednesday that Leivo is a candidate to fill in.

Eric Fehr, who cleared waivers on Tuesday, skated as the extra forward at practice. 

Matthews fine-tunes D; has more explosive speed 

* While Marner and Martin starred on Monday night, the Matthews line was quiet – at least by their lofty standards. 

"They weren’t as good last game as they have been, but they’ve been good," said Babcock. 

Matthews agreed with the coach's assessment. 

“I thought last game I could’ve been a lot better defensively just down low and boxing guys out and stuff," the sophomore centre said. 

Babcock and his staff have meetings with Matthews and linemates William Nylander and Zach Hyman all the time to iron out the details in their game. 

"They want to be good offensive players," Babcock said. "In order to have the puck all the time, though, you got to be real good without it and they’re getting better at that."

On Monday, Drew Doughty said the Leafs would be a contender soon, but needed to improve defensively before they earn that status. Kings head coach John Stevens doesn't believe it will take all that long. 

"I’ve known Mike Babcock for a long time," Stevens said on Monday morning. "I’m sure he’s been demanding it from Day 1. The problem is you’ve got guys that are coming in here that prior to getting into the National Hockey League, they’ve never had to play without the puck because they have it all the time, so it’s not that they can’t do it, they’ve never had to do it. It takes time.

“Even if you look at Los Angeles, the process that we went through with Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown and Drew, I don’t think people realize just how committed they are without the puck and how good they are and how much value they place in it. And, to me, that’s the big challenge – getting players to put as much value on the defensive side of the game as they do the offensive side of the game and it takes time,” Stevens said.

“But, quite honestly, it doesn’t take an enormous amount of time ... It’s a process you go through where the team has success, maybe makes the playoffs, maybe doesn’t have success in the playoffs, but then you really get a picture of how hard it is and what it takes and I think that’s usually when it sets in."

And while the defensive side remains a work in progress, Matthews is a faster player this season, which has helped him elevate his game. 

"The difference between Matthews' speed through the neutral zone this year and last year is like, I don't know, light-worlds difference," Babcock said last week. 

So, how did Matthews improve in that regard? 

"A little bit of off-ice stuff throughout the summer and working on explosiveness," he said. "And when you skate, it makes it easier for everybody and you create more space for yourself, your wingers and even the defencemen jumping in."

* Lines at Wednesday's practice:

Forwards
Hyman-Matthews-Nylander 
Marleau-Kadri-Komarov 
Brown-Bozak-Marner 
Martin-Moore-Leivo
Fehr 

Defencemen
Rielly-Hainsey 
Gardiner-Zaitsev 
Borgman-Polak
Carrick 

Goaltenders
Andersen
McElhinney