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SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

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TSN Toronto reporter Mark Masters checks in with news and notes from Maple Leafs practices and game-day skates. The Maple Leafs and Flyers skated at the Air Canada Centre ahead of tonight's game.

- Tyler Bozak (undisclosed) missed Toronto's morning skate. "Bozak's a game-time decision," said head coach Mike Babcock. "I expect he'll play." During Thursday's workout, Nazem Kadri took Bozak's place between James van Riemsdyk and Mitch Marner while Brian Boyle moved up to centre a line with Connor Brown and Leo Komarov. If Bozak can't play, those lines will start Thursday's game together and Eric Fehr will draw into the lineup making his Toronto debut as the fourth-line centre. 

- What has been the biggest challenge for Morgan Rielly since he returned from a high ankle sprain on Feb. 2? "Just managing it, just trying to get back to where you were before the injury and, you know, it's tough," he said. How close does he feel to being 100%? "I'm fine," he said interrupting the question. 

On the ice, Rielly hasn't looked like himself and the numbers paint an ugly picture. Rielly has posted a minus-18 rating in 17 games since his return. Babcock is starting to get more and more questions about Rielly's struggles and on Thursday morning came to his defence. "Well, you know, it's an interesting thing, there was a guy that used to be here named Dion Phanuef that took all the flak for everybody and when you trade that guy then someone else gets the flak, especially when it doesn't go good for you," Babcock said. "So, Ries just has to quit thinking and worrying about what anyone else says. He understands that the manager and the coach think he's great and his mom and dad think he's great. I'd spend less time worrying about what anyone else gives you feedback on and just play." 

On Tuesday, Babcock noted that Rielly seems to be overthinking things. "I feel fine," Rielly insisted after Thursday's skate. "The game happens quick, things happen, it's just a matter of how you respond and just doing what you can to help your team win the game." But his defence partner, Nikita Zaitsev, admits the pair hasn't been as sharp lately. "A little bit overthinking sometimes," the rookie noted, "but we just got to play simple, just play defence and think about that." What's the key to getting back on track? "Play defence," the Russian reiterated. "Just think about defence. This is the key."

Thursday is a special game for Rielly and not just because he's celebrating his 23rd birthday. He will likely be matched up against Philadelphia's top line, which, right now, includes Jordan Weal, a fellow Vancouver native, who trains with him in the summer. Are the two friends? "Not tonight," Rielly said with a chuckle. Weal picked up a goal and an assist in Philadelphia's win over Buffalo on Tuesday. "In my mind, he's been very underrated for a long time," Rielly said. "He's got a lot of speed, a lot of skill, he's quick in the corners." Weal has known Rielly for 10 years and believes he has the right mental make-up to survive in the intense Toronto market. "He can really take (the heat). He's a hard worker, you see that in the summer. When you put your head down and work as hard as he does you can definitely brush that stuff us," Weal said. "He's one of the better guys around, always smiling, always laughing and joking. He's an easy guy to be around, that's for sure. He's as smooth a skater as there is ... It will be fun to compete against him."

Weal may seem like a strange choice to play alongside Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds, but Dave Hakstol likes how the 24-year-old has slotted in with the two veterans. "We've seen some chemistry between that group," the Flyers bench boss said. "He adds quickness, he adds some playmaking and even though he's not a big body he actually adds puck possession. He's a guy who's able to hold the puck and make plays in tight spaces." 

- The Flyers enter Thursday's game just two points back of the Leafs. "It's exciting," said Kadri, "almost a playoff feel. That's the good thing about this last stretch here, we're fighting tooth and nail to get in so that will prepare us if we were to advance." Giroux noted that Philadelphia's experience last year when the team only qualified for the playoffs on the final weekend of the regular season should serve them well in this year's race. "It's a good thing we went through this last year, knowing that we can show up every game. It's about being able to put a game behind you and move forward," he said. "We circled this date (in Toronto) a while back."

- Valtteri Filppula confirmed reports that he nixed a trade to Toronto in the lead up to the deadline. The Leafs were among the teams on the no-trade list he compiled last summer. "It's nothing against Toronto," the 32-year-old explained on Thursday. "They obviously have a great team and a coach who coached me before so that would have been a familiar thing, but things happen so quick that I didn't want to make (a knee-jerk) decision. I put some effort and thought into that list in the summer so I wanted to stick with that." Asked if Leafs management tried to change his mind, Filppula said he didn't want to get into that.

- Lines at Leafs morning skate: 

Forwards
Hyman-Matthews-Nylander
van Riemsdyk-Kadri-Marner
Komarov-Boyle-Brown
Martin-Fehr-Soshnikov 
Leivo 

Defencemen
Rielly-Zaitsev
Gardiner-Marchenko
Hunwick-Polak
Marincin-Smith

Goaltenders
Anderesen 
McElhinney 

- Power play units at Leafs morning skate: 

Zaitsev 
Brown-Kadri-Marner
JVR 

Gardiner
Matthews-Leivo-Nylander
Komarov