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SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

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The Toronto Maple Leafs (optional) and Winnipeg Jets skated at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday. 

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Kenny Agostino will make his Maple Leafs debut tonight. 

"He's worked really hard and really waited for an opportunity to play," noted coach Sheldon Keefe. "He's never complained, just continued to work and has been a real leader and one of, if not the best, players down with the Marlies."

Agostino posted 49 points in 53 games in the American Hockey League last season and had seven points in eight games with the Marlies to start this season. The 28-year-old hasn't suited up in the NHL since April 6, 2019, when he played with the New Jersey Devils.  

"In the games he's played with the Marlies, he's just continued being the player that he's established himself as in the American League, but he also has NHL experience," Keefe said. "When we signed him a couple off-seasons ago, he was a guy who was coming off a full season in the NHL and hasn't really had his chance here yet."

That changes tonight. Agostino will replace Travis Boyd, who has played in 18 of the past 20 games. 

"I haven't liked what we've gotten out of our fourth line here in the last little while," Keefe explained. "Also, just having a fresh body in at forward, someone that is hungry for his opportunity, we think it might inject something into the group today."

The Leafs are looking to snap a season long three game losing streak. 

"I don't think there's any panic in their room nor should there be," said Jets coach Paul Maurice. "They will be hyper aggressive and they're going to want to play their best, but I don't believe Toronto will cross the line into a desperation that makes them weaker where their risk profile changes to the point where you'll be able to take advantage. They'll come out hard. We know we got to be better."

This season, when two teams play in consecutive games in the same arena, the team coming off a victory has a record of 80-66-16 in next game. Toronto, coming off a loss in that situation, is 4-1-0. Winnipeg, coming off a win, is 4-3-0. 

 

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Winnipeg edged Toronto 4-3 on Tuesday night, but gave up 39 shots and leaned heavily on goalie Connor Hellebuyck. 

"We think we can control parts of our end of the ice a little better than we did," Maurice said. "From training camp on, this is a piece of our game we need to improve at. We're also [facing] one of the top two or three teams in the NHL at exploiting those areas, getting the pucks to the net, getting the puck to the slot. This is a huge challenge for us."

The Jets outhit the Leafs 28-15, but Nikolaj Ehlers​ believes his team can do a better job of throwing its weight around.  

"It's a matter of playing the way we did and maybe with a little more physicality and getting more pucks to the net," the winger said. 

Tuesday's victory was Winnipeg's seventh this season after allowing the first goal of the game, which leads the North Division. 

"There's games where we haven't played the way we wanted to, but this team, this group, there's a lot of fight and we don't give up," said  Ehlers​, who had two assists Tuesday. "We've been able to come back and win games even though we're down. We keep working and we work for each other and that's what makes us a good team." 

 

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Joe Thornton will play regular-season game No. 1,652 in the NHL tonight, moving into a tie with Mark Recchi for sixth on the all-time list. 

"I didn't realize that," the 41-year-old forward said. "I've been playing for a while now and my body feels good. When I'm done I'll probably look at that stuff a little more."

The Leafs are wrapping up a busy part of their schedule this week, but Thornton stuck to his usual routine of taking part in the optional morning skate. 

"It makes me eat lunch a little bit easier, it makes me nap," Thornton explained. "Nice little sweat. I've always done it. It helps me relax for what tonight brings."

Thornton was one of only five regulars to hit the ice this morning skating alongside Jake Muzzin, Jason Spezza, Pierre Engvall and Alex Kerfoot. 

Thornton has helped keep the mood loose around the Leafs as they navigate their first losing streak of the season. He's been bestowing different nicknames on his teammates, including 'Willy Styles' for William Nylander and ‘Hollywood' for Jimmy Vesey. Frederik Andersen has been referred to as ‘Fredzilla' of late, but Thornton denied involvement. 

"I didn't give 'Zilla his nickname, by the way," he said with a laugh. "That was not me. I know who did, but it was not me. As a kid running around with my brothers and my cousins, we always had nicknames for each other, so it started at a young age."

 

Thornton said having a good sense of humour helps keep everyone in the dressing room relaxed and that usually translates to a better performance on the ice. 

"He's got more excitement every day than anyone else and so we can all learn from that," said Kerfoot. 

Thornton's impact on the Leafs is evident on the ice as he's given the team more of a presence below the goal line in the offensive zone. 

"He's such an effective player still," observed Maurice. "So smart and has an impact on all his teams [with] the style of play. You see Toronto change sides quite a bit more than maybe in the past. That's a San Jose thing. That's a Joe Thornton thing. Those guys in San Jose would rip it from one corner out to the weak-side point all the time. When we [Team North America] played Team Canada at the World Cup, I think they changed sides 16 times and that's him and that's the impact he's had on the game." 

Thornton, who slots in on Toronto’s top line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, has two assists and five shots in six games since returning from a lower-body injury. He saw his ice time decline late in the recent Western Canada swing. 

"As we went through that road trip, starting with the back-to-back with travel into Vancouver and then coming home, you could just feel it affecting the group a little bit and, of course, it's going to affect Joe as well," Keefe said. "At the same time, we've had more than enough time to adjust to that coming back home here now and we're expecting everybody to start to turn the corner."

 

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Maurice has opted for a three-forward alignment in three-on-three overtime. The Jets coach has pointed out that most of the defending in that situation is man-to-man anyway, so you may as well go for the win by icing the most gifted scorers. 

“With the type of forwards that they have, you get three of them on there at the same time there's lots of skill," Keefe noted. "They're obviously very dynamic. I think also, at the same time, if you're fortunate enough to get the puck it presents some opportunities the other way, potentially. I haven't given it a great deal of thought. There's enough things to concern ourselves with for the first 60 minutes."

The Leafs are 2-2 in overtime this season. 
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Morgan Rielly heaped praise on new defence partner T.J. Brodie. 

"What he brings to this team is extremely valuable," Rielly said. "The way he plays in our end. The way he can move the puck on the break out. His stick in the defensive zone is elite. He’s been very, very good for us and he's been a huge part of this group on and off the ice. If you watch him play over an extended period of time you'll really appreciate how he views the game, how he plays defensively and how important he is to me and our whole back end."

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Projected Leafs lines for Thursday's game: 

Thornton - Matthews - Marner

Kerfoot - Tavares - Nylander 

Mikheyev - Engvall - Hyman

Vesey - Agostino - Spezza 

 

Rielly - Brodie 

Muzzin - Holl

Dermott - Bogosian

 

Andersen starts 

Mikko Lehtonen will be a healthy scratch for a seventh straight game. He hasn't suited up since Feb. 24 when Muzzin was out due to a facial fracture.

"We've reached a different phase of the season here," Keefe said. "I think we gave lots of opportunity to different people early in the season, Mikko being one, at times when maybe we really didn't have a reason to change the lineup. Obviously, we're at a point now where this season has definitely got lots of momentum. We're approaching or right at the halfway point and you've got to give yourself the best opportunity to win each day. Everybody really is just going to have to wait for their next opportunity and continue to put in the proper work to do so.

“In Mikko's case, specifically, we have no doubts or questions about the work that he puts in. He's extremely committed, extremely focused, works very hard. We're happy with all of those kinds of things. For the last little while we just haven't seen a reason to make a change on defence.”