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SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

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TSN Toronto reporter Mark Masters checks in daily with news and notes on the Maple Leafs. The team practiced at MasterCard Centre on Thursday. 

Andreas Johnsson and Patrick Marleau swapped spots at Thursday’s practice as the 39-year-old rejoined Matthews and Kasperi Kapanen. That trio played together from the third game of the season until Matthews got hurt in Game No. 11.  

"He’s just easy to play with," Auston Matthews said of Marleau. "He’s so smart out there. He skates, he’s fast, he’s a big body, protects the puck well. We want to get back to how we were playing at the beginning the year, using each other, creating offence and just developing that chemistry even more."

Well-known for his smooth skating stride, Marleau’s size – 6-foot-2, 218 pounds – is sometimes an overlooked part of his skill-set. 

"He's a linebacker on skates," San Jose Sharks coach Peter DeBoer observed before Wednesday's game. "He's physically so gifted both with his skating ability, but also his body. He's a big, heavy, strong guy. People don't realize how big a man he is and how powerful he is and he doesn't shy away from getting in the corners and doing dirty work."

Johnsson, who had two assists last night, joined the Nazem Kadri line at Thursday’s practice. Johnsson and Kadri also played together during last spring’s first-round playoff series against the Boston Bruins. After a sluggish start to the season, Johnsson, the Calder Cup MVP for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies last spring, seems to be rounding into form. 

"He's got some speed back in his game," said Leafs head coach Mike Babcock. "When he gets the puck he wants to have the puck and feels a little better about himself. The league's not easy. It's hard on people. You win the championship the year before, you probably have a good summer and enjoy it and then come back and find out everyone else has been working all summer. I don't know exactly the reason (why he struggled early) but obviously he's going in the right direction. That gave us a good line last night. I had Marleau on that line today and him with Naz, but there'll be an opportunity either way."

After the game on Wednesday, Babcock explained that he decided to give Matthews an easier matchup in his return, pitting him against the Sharks’ third line while matching Kadri against the Joe Pavelski trio. Marleau is better suited to that task than Johnsson, who is in only his first full NHL season. 

"We have quite a road stretch coming up," Babcock pointed out. "So, the road matchups are controlled by the other team so you make adjustments accordingly."

The Leafs will play seven of their next eight on the road starting on Saturday in Minnesota. 

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After Wednesday’s win, John Tavares lavished praise on 21-year-olds Mitch Marner and Matthews, saying the pair have exceeded his expectations this season. 

"They're probably better than I thought,” the 10-year NHL veteran said. “They're extremely talented hockey players and you can see how bad they want to be great.”

After Thursday’s practice, Tavares was asked in which ways the emerging superstars have impressed him. 

“Well, I mean, you can just see their skill-sets every day and just how great they are at playing the game and their understanding of their capabilities and bringing it consistently night in and night out … they’re a big part of the driving force here and they set the tone in many ways.

"It really comes out within the way they play the game, how competitive they are."

Does any play or plays stand out? 

"Just their ability to hound pucks and track pucks and be able to cause turnovers. You see it from Mitch every night in all three zones, his ability to anticipate plays and pick guys off or strip guys and Mats does it, too. He’s got such a quick stick. It’s unbelievable how he’s able to pickpocket people. He had a couple early in the first just coming back and keeping pucks alive in the offensive zone, just that hunger to have the puck and to get it back when you don’t have it. They play an all-around game.”

Marner is tied for third in the NHL with 32 takeaways (1.2 per game) while Matthews is actually averaging more with 15 in 12 outings (1.5 per game). 

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Near the end of Thursday's practice, veteran defenceman Ron Hainsey exited the ice after a Marner shot ramped up his stick and clipped him in the face. He didn't return. 

"At first, to be honest with you, I thought it was just a veteran move to get off the ice and out of skating,” Babcock said with a smile. “Then I realized he’s got to drive all over town to get sewn up. Bummer for him, but he’s all right."

Hainsey missed the final skating drills of the high-temp workout designed to get the group moving better. 

"We, obviously, think we need it," Babcock said. "Over the last 20 days we had 11 games so we kept the motor going, but we didn’t practise."

This is the first time the Leafs have had two days between games since Nov. 11-12. After Wednesday’s game, Babcock said the rigorous schedule has taken a toll on his club. 

"We can play so much faster than we're playing right now and I think we're going to," he said. "We've got to get practising a little bit here and get our legs back and get jumping."

The team will travel to Minneapolis on Friday morning before holding an outdoor, inter-team shinny tournament. It’s the second straight season the Leafs will do this in Minnesota where Jake Gardiner grew up. His father, John Gardiner, helped set things up last year and the winner of the event gets The Gardiner Cup ... which is just one of the defenceman’s old midget trophies.  

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Lines in Thursday’s practice: 

Forwards
Hyman-Tavares-Marner 
Marleau-Matthews-Kapanen
Johnsson-Kadri-Brown
Ennis-Lindholm-Leivo
Gauthier 

Defencemen
Rielly-Hainsey 
Gardiner-Zaitsev 
Dermott-Ozhiganov
Marincin-Holl

Goaltenders
Andersen
Sparks 

Power-play units in Thursday’s practice: 

Rielly
Matthews-Kadri-Marner
Tavares

Gardiner
Ennis-Johnsson-Marleau
Leivo