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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 Leafs and Red Wings skated at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit ahead of Friday's game.

Jake Muzzin will play his 497th regular-season game tonight, but it will be his first with the Maple Leafs. 

"I feel pretty good," the 29-year-old defenceman said. "A little nervous, a little excited. This is new for me."

At Toronto's morning skate, Muzzin was once again slotted in on the left side of the top pairing with Morgan Rielly. However, he took reps on the penalty kill, alongside Nikita Zaitsev, rather than on the power play. He had worked with the second power-play unit at Thursday's practice.

Both Muzzin and coach Mike Babcock are doing their best to manage expectations ahead of the much-anticipated debut. 

"Any time you've been traded and your wife's pregnant and you've been in a spot for a long time, won two Cups, I think there's an adjustment period for sure," the Leafs coach noted. "But, the biggest thing we'll do is not overload him. He's going to get out there and play and I think he'll find the game even easier than practice just because there's not so much twirling around. Just get out there and do what you do."

“Th​ere is no need to rush into getting overly excited," Muzzin said. "I've been around a little bit and hopefully I can understand new systems quickly and stuff like that."

Muzzin is a native of Woodstock, Ont. and grew up cheering for the Leafs. A picture of him wearing a Doug Gilmour shirt as a kid made the rounds on social media this week. Muzzin's parents have made the trip to Detroit to see their son play tonight. This is a special moment for him.

"It's crazy," he said smiling and shaking his head. "Growing up you aspire to play for the Leafs one day and here we are. It's crazy to come full circle."

 

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Mitch Marner can relate. He also grew up dreaming of wearing the blue and white. Has the reality lived up to what he thought it would be? 

"Definitely," the 21-year-old said. "It’s an honour. I mean, when you walk around the city you feel the buzz around not just our team but all the Toronto teams. Everyone’s excited about where all the Toronto teams are going, so it’s exciting to be a part of. Growing up a Leafs fan it was always a dream to play for this team and you’re pretty lucky to get that chance."

The right winger, who is in the final year of his entry-level contract, previously said he'd prefer not to negotiate a new deal during the season, which has fuelled speculation about his future. TSN's Darren Dreger reported yesterday on Insider Trading that multiple teams are "100 per cent" preparing an offer sheet for Marner should he reach July 1 without a contract. 

Based on what he said above about being a Leaf, could Marner ever imagine a scenario where he signs an offer sheet? 

"Definitely not, but, I mean, that’s why we're trying to figure all this stuff now," he said. "But, for me, personally, I’m just trying to stay out of all that, let (GM) Kyle (Dubas) and my agent (Darren Ferris) talk."

 

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Marner has created some close friendships in Toronto, including with Patrick Marleau and Auston Matthews. That trio played together for the first time in the final game before the break and remained together at Thursday's practice and Friday's morning skate. 

How did Babcock think they looked in the win against the Capitals on Jan. 23? 

"They were okay," said the coach, who prefers to play Matthews and Marner separately to create a more balanced lineup. "I thought the other lines were good in the game, obviously, and we'll go a number of ways. May even go a different way tomorrow depending on matchups. We're warming up like this tonight and we'll go from there."

While Marner agreed the line has room to grow, he liked the initial returns. 

"I thought we played well together," he said. "We created opportunities. We had chances at the net. Sometimes we lost F3, we got a little too eager down low, but that will happen. I mean, you’re going to lose F3 every once in a while."

 

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Detroit's Dylan Larkin often gets the tough matchup when coach Jeff Blashill controls the last change so he could see a lot of the Matthews group tonight. Why does the Wings coach trust the 22-year-old in that role? 

"What are his best attributes? Certainly, on the outside, his speed and skill, those are great attributes," Blashill explained. "I think his best attribute is his competitiveness and his want to go against the best. I've used him that way in the past in the World Championships. He matched up against (Connor) McDavid twice in the World Championships last year and did an excellent job. He loves those moments. He wants that competitiveness. He doesn't win it all the time, but he loves those moments. So, I think that's really drawn the best out of him. He can skate with anybody in the league. He can play a strength game with anyone in the league. I think the fact he's done that and been able to produce says he's on the way to being one of the elite-type players in this league."

Detroit sits 15th in the Eastern Conference entering Friday's games, 14 points back of the final playoff spot, but Larkin is in no mood to throw up the white flag. 

"I don’t think it’s over for us," he insisted. "There’s still hope. I feel we’re playing our best hockey the last 15 games. We had a road trip where we played real well for three games and we didn’t win two, but we found a way to win in Edmonton and it gave us confidence going into the break."

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Maple Leafs lines at morning skate:

Marleau-Matthews-Marner

Hyman-Tavares-Kapanen

Brown-Kadri-Nylander

Lindholm- Gauthier -Johnsson

Holl

 

Muzzin-Rielly

Gardiner-Zaitsev 

Dermott-Hainsey 

Marincin-Ozhiganov

 

Andersen starts 

Sparks