Marner determined not to cheat with 100 points in sight

The Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens skated at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday. 

With four games left, Mitch Marner sits five points shy of 100. 

"Trying to focus on trying to play with the right mindset here and try not to cheat for anything," the winger said. "If it gets rewarded, it gets rewarded but try not to focus on it too much. Just try and finish out the regular season with wins."

Marner last hit the scoresheet on March 29 when he picked up an assist against the Florida Panthers. Since then, he's played three games without a point, his longest drought of the season, and was scratched in one game for load management. 

Only three Leafs have ever compiled 100 points in a season: Darryl Sittler (twice), Doug Gilmour (twice) and Auston Matthews, who accomplished the feat last season. 

Marner will be reunited with Matthews and Michael Bunting on Saturday night. That trio last started a game together on March 2. Matthews, Marner and Bunting formed a dominant line last year, but never really caught fire together this season. 

"We want to be consistent," Marner said. "When we have played together, we've done some good things but the outcome hasn't shown [that]. We just got to stay patient and knowing it will come eventually and we can't force things. We have to play the game that we know we can play and when we do that we get a lot of chances at the offensive net and usually you can count on at least one or two."

Marner came painfully close to becoming the first Leafs winger to ever reach triple digits last season. He finished with 97 points despite missing 10 games. 

"He's very dynamic," said Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis, who hit 100 points just once in his Hall of Fame career. "He's a challenge to defend when he has the puck, but he's a challenge to play against when he doesn't have the puck, because he has a good stick and he's very intelligent on the ice and he intercepts plays. He's very engaged."

Marner leads the NHL with 99 takeaways this season. 

"He's one of the more dangerous players in the league," said Canadiens winger Brendan Gallagher. "He's feeling good about his game."

Marner was certainly feeling good on Saturday morning. The 25-year-old even took time to compliment Toronto Sun reporter Terry Koshan. 

"Your moustache is looking better and better," he said with a smile. "It's great. It looks great."

Marner will be growing some facial hair again soon with the playoffs fast approaching. 

"Hopefully it's better than past years," he said. "We'll see."

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Calle Jarnkrok did not skate in the morning and will miss Saturday's game due to an undisclosed injury. 

"It's been something that he's been working through for a while, but it just kind of flared up on him," said Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe. "Fairly minor. He finished the game the other night. He was just a little bit more uncomfortable than you'd want him to be at this time of year."

Jarnkrok skated with Matthews on the top line in the last 10 games. 

Ryan O'Reilly, who started Thursday's game as the third-line centre, will move up to the second-line centre spot on Saturday. John Tavares will shift to left wing with William Nylander on the right side. 

"I started to use O'Reilly with Tavares and Marner there in the third period in Boston and wanted to get more reps with John on the wing," Keefe said. "We haven't seen Will in that spot with them so that's an opportunity for us to do that and, at the same time, you get the familiarity of Marner and Bunting with Matthews while keeping everything else relatively intact."

Thursday was O'Reilly's first game since breaking the index finger on his left hand on March 4. 

"It's the most fun I've had in a long time," he told reporters in Boston. "I did some good things. Still was kind of fighting the puck a bit and timing was a little off with certain things, but for the most part felt great. Just got to clean up a few things." 

O'Reilly and Tavares played six games together immediately after he was acquired from St. Louis. Tavares says he'll still look to get to the middle of the ice despite being on the wing. 

"I'm traditionally there and a lot generates for me from there on both sides of the puck," the 32-year-old said. 

Tavares has just one goal in 5-on-5 play since the start of March, but has earned kudos from Keefe for being sound defensively. 

"Obviously you want everything to be firing on all cylinders," said Tavares, "but it's the importance of play without the puck and how important each and every play, each and every shift, each and every detail is with what's coming here in the near future. There's still been some good, I think, production offensively obviously without the puck going in the net, but still making some plays over the last four, five games. Ah, you know, maybe not as much 5-on-5, but will continue to stay with it."

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O'Reilly will get his first look with the top power play unit. Nylander shifts to the second unit.  

"Jarny has kind of had been running things on that second unit so you lose him there and there’s a chance for Will to go into that spot and really be in charge and have the puck a ton and everything  be driving through him," Keefe said. "At the same time, you get a look at O’Reilly in a spot that he’s a had a lot of success in in his career in what was one of the league’s best power plays in St. Louis so we get some looks at that. With O’Reilly’s injury it’s something we haven’t been able to see."

Toronto has failed to convert on the power play in four of the last five games (2/14).

Nylander has been held off the scoresheet in 10 of 12 games since March 15. He had the worst possession numbers on the team (28.57 CorsiFor percentage, per NaturalStatTrick.com) on Thursday in Boston.

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Veteran winger Wayne Simmonds will suit up in Toronto's final home game of the regular season. 

"You grow up watching games like these and to be able to play in another in my career is amazing," the 34-year-old from Scarborough, Ont. said. "My wife, kids, in-laws, my brother and sister-in-law will be in the building tonight. It is Easter so a lot of people came down so it should be pretty special."

Simmonds, who is in the final year of his contract, will be playing just his 18th game of the season. He has passed through waivers a couple times. So, Saturday could be his final home game with his hometown team. 

"We're going to play in the playoffs and Wayne's a part of our team so I don't even know why I'm getting these questions," Keefe said when that possibility was raised. 

"He's had a helluva career," said Gallagher. "He's been doing it for a really long time. He's put in some hard minutes. He's grinded for everything in his carer and he definitely has the respect of the league. He's probably going to go out and do what he always does and make our life miserable and we expect that." 

Simmonds only has two assists this season, but continues to play an important leadership role off the ice. 

"It can't be easy with what he's accomplished and what he's been through in his career," said Tavares. "We tip our cap and really appreciate him because of the role that he's accepted. How he's handled himself and carried himself on a daily basis has been phenomenal. We're really lucky to have him as a teammate of ours in many facets."

Simmonds now gets another playoff run in Toronto as he chases an elusive championship. 

"It's special," he said. "This is my 15th year, right, so any way I have a chance to make it to the playoffs and win a Stanley Cup, I don't care if I'm playing or if I'm not. Obviously, I would like to play but for me it's just trying to help around the room. Whether I'm in or out, just see things that I pick up on and just relay it to guys and help out wherever I can."

When he's in the lineup, there's no secret what he provides. 

"He still scares the s—t out of people," said Marner.

Simmonds has amassed 1,306 penalty minutes in his 1,036 regular season games. 

"He's definitely intimidating physically when he's out there," Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki confirmed. "I've been hit by him a couple a times so definitely be aware." 

"He's always been tough to play against," said Canadiens forward Jake Evans. "I remember the playoffs a few years ago, he's a guy you don't want to get into the corner with. He's a fierce competitor. He's had such a great career and I know it hasn't been an easy journey for him. It's always been hard for him and he's just kept going and been such a great player in this league."

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Matt Murray has not skated since suffering a head injury in Sunday's game against Detroit. 

"He's been progressing," said Keefe. "He's had some good days here of late so the thought was he'd be available to back-up tonight possibly so we'll see. That may not be the case here now, but working with the medical team just to figure out exactly where that's at."

Ilya Samsonov will get the start against the Canadiens and is the only healthy goalie currently on the roster. Joseph Woll was sent back to the Toronto Marlies following Thursday's game. 

Who will dress as the back-up goalie if Murray doesn't get cleared?  

"I don't know," said Keefe. "That's out of my hands."

The cap-strapped Leafs need to preserve some space in order to sign Minnesota sophomore Matthew Knies, who will complete his NCAA season on Saturday night when the Golden Gophers compete in the national championship game. As a result, Toronto may need to bring in an emergency back-up goalie for Saturday's game. 

The team was in a similar situation early last season after Petr Mrazek got hurt early in the season. University of Toronto's Alex Bishop dressed in one game on Oct. 16, 2021.

Andrew D'Agostini and Brendan Bonello, who both played a couple of games in the ECHL last season, joined the Leafs as extra goalies at the morning skate. 

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Morgan Rielly and T.J. Brodie skated on Saturday morning, but will not play against the Canadiens. 

"Everybody's got bumps and bruises and things that they're dealing with this time of year so just giving them the day, which hopefully provides an opportunity for everything to settle for them," Keefe said. 

Timothy Liljegren, who was a healthy scratch on Thursday, will draw in. 

Erik Gustafsson will return the lineup for the first time since going on personal leave on March 24. 

With the Leafs locked into the No. 2 spot in the Atlantic Division, how will Keefe balance things down the stretch? 

"It's an 82-game schedule and you got to get through it," the coach said. "There's lots of things at play here. We can still focus on our game. For us, in particular, [there's] such a significant piece like O'Reilly that hasn't really been with our team, so there's lots of reasons for us to continue to work and play. The salary cap and roster limitations, those provide challenges in terms of what you're even capable of doing." 

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Leafs lines at Saturday's skate: 

Bunting - Matthews - Marner 
Tavares - O'Reilly - Nylander 
Kerfoot - Acciari - Simmonds 
Aston-Reese - Kampf - Lafferty 

McCabe - Holl
Giordano - Liljegren 
Gustafsson - Schenn 
Rielly - Brodie 

Samsonov

Leafs power play units at Saturday's skate: 

QB: Gustafsson
Flanks: Matthews, Marner
Middle: O’Reilly
Net front: Tavares 

QB: Giordano
Flanks: Nylander, Kerfoot/Liljegren 
Middle: Lafferty
Net front: Bunting