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SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

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TSN Toronto reporter Mark Masters checks in daily with news and notes on the Leafs. The Leafs and Bruins skated at Scotiabank Arena ahead of tonight’s game in Toronto. 

With captain Zdeno Chara and top-line centre Patrice Bergeron among those currently sidelined due to injury, the Bruins have continued to find a way to win. Boston is 3-0-2 over its last five games and defeated rival Montreal on Saturday night in an edgy affair at the Bell Centre. 

“It was a good, old-fashioned game,” said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. “A couple guys on each team were bleeding, had to get helped off here and there, without crossing the line, so it was a good, hard hockey game. It’s how we have to play against Toronto. We know that they're skilled and fast, they want to get going so we have to make it tough on them. They have to travel through some bodies to get to the net. That’s the way we have to look at it if we’re going to beat them.”

While Boston was battling to the buzzer in Montreal, Toronto was cruising to a 6-0 win against Philadelphia. It was the second straight game at Scotiabank Arena where neither team was assessed a penalty. 

"I saw (Boston) play against Montreal," noted Leafs coach Mike Babcock, "it was a way different level than the Philly game was. The Philly game was night-and-day different, level-wise, compared to that game. That game was competitive, people were after each other, it was high-end skill. It was totally different, so tonight should be a lot of fun."

 

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With Bergeron out, Boston's top line, which dominated Toronto at times during a win earlier this month, has a much different feel. Wingers Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak have just one assist each in the last four games and will slot in tonight beside 22-year-old rookie Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson. 

“Their offensive production hasn't been there as much,” Cassidy observed. “Obviously, Bergy has a lot to do with that. He’s a solid defensive player, first and foremost, so he gets pucks back for them so we’re attacking a lot more when he’s in the lineup. JFK's done a nice job in there, but he’s not Bergy and we’re not asking him to be. But he is a pretty responsible guy so hopefully he gets a little more comfortable every time out.”

Pastrnak had a hat trick and an assist in the win against Toronto on Nov. 10 while Marchand chipped in with two assists. Despite the absence of Bergeron, the pair remains very much in the crosshairs for the Leafs. 

“There’s always a lot of emphasis on pre-scouting a line like that and how good they are for their team,” said John Tavares. “Their chemistry is hard to find and when they’re that skilled, that productive, you have to be aware of them.”

“I think guys are targeting them more, to be perfectly honest,” said Cassidy. “With Bergy out, they've had a little more attention, the physical part. So, they have to play through that. Pasta's learning that part of the game that when you score a goal a game you're circled on the board by the other team … when you don't get on the scoresheet you're naturally frustrated so we've seen a bit of that.”

Marchand is used to this type of attention, but Pastrnak is just 22-years-old and still working on managing his emotions. 

“Last game, for example, I’m not going to lie, I got a little bit frustrated,” he admitted. “But there were many more games where I got hit more and didn’t get frustrated. I guess it was more things at once [against Montreal]. I shouldn’t get frustrated and I can't do that.”

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The Leafs aren't putting too much stock into that earlier loss in Boston as it came on the second half of a back-to-back set against a rested Bruins side. Toronto started strong in that game, but faded down the stretch. And they didn’t have starter Frederik Andersen between the pipes in that one. He’s dominated Boston in the regular season, winning 10 of 11 games against them. 

But Andersen struggled in Game 7 last April allowing six goals on 35 shots. The Dane insists he’s not thinking about playoff payback tonight. 

“It's a new season,” he said. “It's not playoffs. It's the regular season where you try and build some points in the division so it's a race against those guys again so any point you can get against them is good.”

Toronto (32) leads Boston (30) by just two points and the Leafs are just 2-2 this season against Atlantic Division foes. 

The Bruins will be going with Jaroslav Halak (8-2-2, .939 save percentage) in net over Tuukka Rask (5-4-2 .913 save percentage). Halak stopped 40 of 41 shots against the Leafs in that win earlier this month. 

“I think Tuukka played great [in Montreal],” explained Cassidy. “We went back and forth on it, but Halak’s been good, so right now it’s almost a bit of a rotation, especially with, what did we have? Five games in eight days? So, we’re a little bit lighter at the end of the week and we'll look at it then.”

Cassidy did say Rask is likely to start on Thursday against the Islanders. 

 

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Pastrnak is close friends with William Nylander, who he played with in Sweden. The pair usually grabs dinner before Leafs-Bruins games, but that didn’t happen last night as the restricted free agent remains in a contract stalemate with the Leafs. 

“Obviously, I miss him around here,” Pastrnak said. “I wish him well and hopefully he signs soon. I don't talk to him about this stuff.”

Last week, Babcock noted that Nylander loves hockey so he’s betting on the smooth-skating Swede being back before the Dec. 1 deadline for RFAs to sign to be eligible to play in the NHL this season. 

“It's definitely hard for him to not play,” Pastrnak said. “You got to give him some respect, right? He's sitting out for a while and he's patient. You know, whatever it is, at the end of the day you have to be patient and get what you think you deserve.”

Pastrnak had his own contract dispute before last season, but missed just one day of training camp before signing a six-year, $40-million pact. 

“I just wanted to play,” he recalled. “My agent came up to me and said, ‘This is what you should sign,’ so I signed it and went to Boston.”

With 17 goals in 23 games this season, is there any frustration for Pastrnak now since he’s clearly worth more than he’s making? 

“Not at all,” he said. “If you [told] me when I was 15-years-old, I'd be playing for $6-million a year when I'm 22, I'd be like, ‘I don't think you're saying the truth.’ So, just a dream come true. I'm happy for what I'm getting. I could be playing in Czech for a couple hundred bucks per month so I’m really happy.”

 

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Patrick Marleau will suit up in his 1,600th NHL regular-season game tonight becoming just the 11th player in history to reach that milestone. What’s the number mean to him?

“Ah, been around a while, I guess,” the 39-year-old said with a grin. “That’s what that means. I enjoy coming to the rink every day so it’s another game and I look forward to it.”

Marleau credits former Sharks teammate Joe Thornton for helping put him on the path to this point. 

“When Jumbo Joe came to San Jose, I tried to soak up as much as I could of what he brought and that’s putting in the time at the rink. That’s one of the things I got from him. He likes to come in early for games. We were roommates so we kind of got on the same page there.”

Marleau, who grew up on a farm in small-town Saskatchewan, has impressed teammates with his modest nature. 

“He’s probably the most humble guy I’ve ever met,” said Andersen.

While Marleau’s mentoring of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner has drawn attention, Babcock is quick to point out that the left winger has offered a helping hand to pretty much everyone in the organization.

“He makes you a flat out better human being just by walking by you,” the coach gushed. “So, to me, where he's from and his mom and dad and how he was raised and all those things are probably huge parts of that. You can't replace that stuff, especially with a young group. If you want to win, you've got to have people that do it right every day. It's hard to do it right every day. Imagine doing it right every day, 82 times, where everyone is watching you every time you make a sound, any time you do anything there’s a microscope all over you? He’s that good.”

 

 

Lines at Leafs morning skate: 

Hyman-Tavares-Marner 

Marleau-Kadri-Kapanen 

Johnsson-Lindholm-Brown

Ennis-Gauthier-Leivo

Matthews (shoulder) 

 

Rielly-Hainsey 

Gardiner-Marincin

Dermott-Ozhiganov 

Holl

 

Andersen starts 

Sparks 

 

Lines at Bruins morning skate: 

Marchand-Forsbacka Karlsson-Pastrnak

Heinen-Krejci-DeBrusk

Bjork-Nordstrom-Acciari

Wagner-Cave-Backes

 

Moore-Miller

Krug-Clifton

Lauzon-Grzelcyk

Halak starts

 

Rask