Marner may take shifts on defence for undermanned Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs held an optional skate at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday ahead of tonight's matchup with the Montreal Canadiens.

Forced to dress only five defencemen in Saturday night's game against the Canadiens, the Maple Leafs may turn to Mitch Marner to take a couple shifts on the back end. 

"I don't have a lot of guys with experience that have played back there other than Mitch," said coach Craig Berube. "I know Mitch has done it before and he does it on the power play. So, he is capable, if we need it, to give us minutes."

Marner, who is second on the team in average ice time (21:22), has spent much of the season as the quarterback of a five-forward power-play unit. During the last two seasons, Marner did take some shifts as a defenceman under former coach Sheldon Keefe when the Leafs trailed late in games. 

"Mitchy is the easy answer," said forward Scott Laughton when asked who could fill in. "I heard he's played it a couple times and looked pretty good. So, yeah, I think he would be the pick."
None of the five defencemen who will suit up for the Leafs participated in Saturday's optional skate even though Chris Tanev, Simon Benoit, Brandon Carlo and Philippe Myers usually take the ice in this situation. Conserving energy is paramount on a day like this. 
"Never seen it in my career," Leafs winger Nick Robertson said of the shorthanded lineup. "It’s a first for me. I know why [it's happening], but it’s pretty unique." 

With fewer than 10 games remaining in the regular season, teams are unable to place players on long term injured reserve to create more cap space. So, contending teams that loaded up at the deadline can find themselves in a bind when multiple injuries pop up at the same time. Leafs defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson got hurt on Wednesday in Tampa Bay and has joined defenceman Jake McCabe and centre David Kampf on the injured list. The team does not have the cap space available to recall a player from the American Hockey League.  

After playing a man short on Saturday, the Leafs will be allowed to make an emergency recall, although the player can't make more than $875,000. Dakota Mermis did not suit up for the Toronto Marlies on Saturday and appears primed for a promotion. 

Toronto also plays on Sunday in Raleigh against the Carolina Hurricanes. 

McCabe and Kampf did skate on Saturday morning.

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Leafs coaches have been canvassing for forward candidates to take a shift on defence if necessary.  

"They've asked a couple of guys," said winger Steven Lorentz. "Some guys have piped up. It seems like they want to play D. But I know Mitchy and Laughts have had some experience."

"I’m ready," said Laughton with a smile. "I’m ready on the left side. Hard rims only ... I've been fighting for a shift or two back there, but we'll see how the game goes."

Laughton played a game on defence during his junior career with the Oshawa Generals. 

"That’s a long time ago," Berube quipped. "I might have played D in junior too."

"We were missing a bunch of guys to World Juniors," Laughton recalled. "But, yeah, it's tough back there. I have a lot of respect for those guys. Guys are coming on the forecheck on you and you've got to read the play and make good plays. So I have a ton of respect for guys like that, like [Tanev], who go back and are pretty fearless, don't worry about getting hit or anything, and make the next play. So, it's a special position. It's hard. You're the last line of defence, and it's really hard."

Lorentz has also filled on on defence in a couple situations over the years. 

"I've been exposed a few times, so hopefully I'm not back there for too long," he said with a smile. "But if that were to come up then I'd feel comfortable doing that. There are a few guys that are more than capable of filling in for a few shifts, I think."

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Berube is looking to his forwards to step up on Saturday and make life easier for the party of five on defence. 

"Our forwards are going to have to work tonight," the coach stressed. "Like, I mean, they've got to do a good job of helping out, you know, get hold ups [on forecheckers] and killing plays in the neutral zone and killing plays out of the offensive zone and not allowing Montreal to gain our zone as much, and helping out in the D zone. They gotta help out tonight."

Berube hammered those points home during a meeting with the team. 

"We spoke about that this morning," Lorentz said. "Little things like hold-ups, just making smart decisions in the D zone, and not trying to make that extra move and potentially cause a turnover to get guys caught. Little things like that. And then it comes down to, like, line changes."

The Leafs will have Anthony Stolarz in net. The goalie has won six straight starts with a .936 save percentage in this hot streak, which dates back to March 20. 

The Canadiens will be starting rookie back-up goalie Jakub Dobes. 

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Montreal played on Friday night in Ottawa so the Leafs may be able to take advantage of a tired opponent. Although Berube is warning his team not to bank on the fatigue factor. 

"Montreal is going to give us a good game," Berube predicted. "They're going to come out, and they're going to be ready to go. They're going to be excited and have a lot of energy. I know they played last night, but throw that out the window. That's not going to matter tonight because they're going to come. They're going to be excited to play us here. They always are. They give us a tough game every time we play them so I expect the same."

The Habs fell 5-2 to the Senators on Friday and still require a regulation win to assure their spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs. 

"They get an extra gear when they play us," Robertson said. "We gotta match that and we gotta build on our confidence. We got a game tomorrow too so we want to build on good things."

The Leafs are trying to take another step toward a first ever Atlantic Division title. They are two points up on the Tampa Bay Lightning with a game in hand. 

There should be plenty of energy in the building as the Leafs play their final Saturday night game of the regular season. 

"My grandpa was actually a huge Montreal fan," said Laughton, who will be suiting up in his first game against the Canadiens since being acquired by the Leafs. "He was from Nova Scotia. I’m sure he’s up there cheering me along. It’s going to be pretty cool for me."

Lorentz is a Kitchener, Ont. native, who is in his first season with the Leafs. 

"It's a privilege every time we get to play against these guys," he said. "There's always that extra, you know, flair. There's a little bit more to those games ... There's just a little bit more intensity and you take things a little bit more personally against guys or teams like this." 

"This is one of the best ever," said Berube when asked about the rivalry. "Going way back, it's what I watched growing up as a kid, these two teams playing on Saturday night, and to be able to be part of that is pretty special."

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Asked about the Canadiens, Berube was quick to highlight defenceman Lane Hutson. 

"Hutson's an elite player back there," Berube said. "He's hard to handle. I mean he drives a lot of their offence and he's so good with the puck, at transporting it up the ice, and doing things in the offensive zone that you normally don't see. He's a very elusive player."

Hutson leads all rookies in scoring with 64 points, including 58 assists. 

"He's an elite passer," Berube said. "He finds people, and he's always looking to make plays."

Hutson is minus-five with two assists in three games against the Leafs this season. 

"Obviously a great talent," said Robertson. "We gotta keep an eye on him when he’s on the ice and be physical with him and shut that part of his game down."

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Projected Leafs lineup for Saturday's game: 

Knies - Matthews - Marner
Jarnkrok - Tavares - Nylander
McMann - Domi - Robertson  
Holmberg - Laughton - Lorentz

Benoit - Tanev
Rielly - Carlo
Myers

Stolarz starts 
Woll