Last year's stretch-run pairing of Matthews, Domi reunites with Marner missing Monday's practice

Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner missed Monday's practice, with the team calling it a maintenance day. Is Toronto's leading scorer in jeopardy of missing Tuesday's game against the Calgary Flames? 

"No, not necessarily," head coach Craig Berube stressed. "We'll see how he is tomorrow."

Marner was on the ice for the frantic final minute of Saturday's win in Edmonton as the Leafs clung to a one-goal lead. Did the issue pop up during the game in Edmonton? 

"Nothing I saw in the game," Berube said. "He didn't report anything in the game." 

The Leafs took the day off on Sunday, so Marner has been off the ice for consecutive days.

Max Domi took the vacated spot on the right side of Auston Matthews at practice. That duo took off together down the stretch last season after Marner sustained an ankle injury. It went so well that former coach Sheldon Keefe kept them together in the playoffs. 

"We complemented each other really well," Matthews recalled. "Just kind of playing that give-and-go game and looking for each other all over the ice. I think that chemistry is still there, and whether or not Mitchy’s in or not tomorrow, [Domi's] a guy that I'm pretty comfortable playing with."

The Leafs outscored the opposition 23-13 when Matthews and Domi shared the ice in 5-on-5 play last season, per NaturalStatTrick.com. 

"I know [Domi] played with Matthews last year for a bit," Berube said. "I just wanted to see what it looked like at practice."

Tthe coach liked what he saw on Monday.  

"Well, he can make plays, and the other guy can score," Berube said. "I thought the line looked good to me. They moved it around well. I like Max's game right now. I think he's more aggressive. He's shooting more, attacking more, skating better. He's got to continue to do that because he has all the abilities. He's got a real good shot. He's obviously a very good playmaker."

"He's definitely a pass-first guy," Matthews said with a smile. "I'm the first to tell you I'd love to see him shoot more, but he sees the ice well."

Domi has just three goals this season and has gone 19 straight games without scoring. He has eight assists during this dry spell, which dates back to Dec. 21.

Domi produced nine goals and 47 points last season before signing a new four-year contract with the Leafs. He's on pace for five goals and 32 points this season.  

"He's the same person every day, and I think that's something that I've really noticed early on, and I admire about him because it's not easy," Matthews said. "The season brings a lot of ups and downs, and it's a bit of a roller coaster sometimes, but you'll never see him wear that ... He gives the most taps on the ass that I've ever seen out of a teammate. So that's something I really appreciate about him." 

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Defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who left Saturday's game with a lower-body injury, also missed Monday's practice. The team also termed his absence as a maintenance day.

Philippe Myers moved up to take the vacated spot beside Morgan Rielly on the second pair. Berube likes how Myers uses his 6-foot-5 frame on the ice. 

"He's going to stay home and kill plays, which he's done a good job of," Berube said. "As much as he can, just get it over to Rielly and Rielly will move it. He's simple with the puck. He gets it, and it's usually direct out, and same as in the neutral zone. He's pretty direct with it. What I like about Myers is he's killed plays in our zone quickly."

Myers and Rielly have played 223 minutes and 34 seconds together at 5-on-5 this season, per NaturalStatTrick.com. The Leafs have been outscored 9-5 in those minutes. 

Dakota Mermis was recalled from the American Hockey League and skated as the seventh defenceman at Monday's practice. 

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Rielly picked up a power-play assist on Saturday, which raised his total to 23 points in 53 games. He is now on pace for 36 points, which would be a sharp decline from 58 last season when he played 72 games. 

"Mo's just got to keep playing his game," Berube said. "Mo's playing better. I liked him the other night in Edmonton. I thought he had a good game." 

Prior to the game, Berube met with Rielly and urged the 30-year-old to be aggressive and not worry as much about making mistakes. 

"There's balance in everything," said Rielly. "So it's just about trying to find that. That's what we all feel. We all want to contribute offensively and not give up anything defensively, and that in itself is balance. Sometimes it just comes easily without thinking about it, and there's other times where you're really conscious about it and you're maybe overthinking it. In there you just got to find your game."

Has Rielly been overthinking things? 

"No, I'm not saying that," he said. "That's just how it is."

Berube hasn't seen any outward signs of frustration from Rielly, who is the longest-serving Leafs player. The coach sees a player who is doing everything he's supposed to do to snap out of a slump. 

"He hasn't obviously produced enough points like he has in the past and we're going to need that," Berube acknowledged. "You know you're supposed to be a point producer. It wears on you, for sure, as a player. You just got to be mentally tough and keep fighting through it, which he is." 

Despite earning praise for his effort on Saturday, Rielly still finished the game minus-one. He has the worst plus-minus mark on the team at minus-19. No one else is worse than minus-six (Myers and Pontus Holmberg). 

What does Rielly think of the plus-minus statistic? 

"Right now?" He said with a smile. "Ah, mixed reviews."

Berube is quick to point out that Rielly has been on the ice for a lot of empty-net goals against. When it comes to 5-on-5 play, the Leafs have only been outscored by five goals (38-33) with Rielly on the ice. 

"He's been battling defensively," Berube said. "I know his plus-minus doesn't show it, but a lot of those are with a goalie out. But, to me, he's battling harder in his own zone."

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Who will start in net for the Leafs on Tuesday? 

"I don't know yet," Berube insisted. "I'm thinking about it."

Anthony Stolarz completed a third full practice as he continues to work his way back from knee surgery. 

"He's close," Berube said. "He's close, boys. But I really don't know. I would tell you if I did. I would. You know that. I just, right now, I don't know."

The truth is that Berube has been reluctant to confirm his starter the day before games. 

And Stolarz has been reluctant to offer up a target date for his return. 

"It's just a day-to-day thing," he repeated on Monday. "That's all I'm kind of focused on is just making progress each and every day. Physically I feel great and couldn't be happier with where I'm at in terms of that."

The key is getting his timing back. Stolarz hasn't played since Dec. 12. 

"It's been getting better and better every day," he said.

Berube did reveal that Stolarz will not return in a back-up role. 

"Coming off an injury like that, I don't see a benefit," Berube said. 

Joseph Woll is coming off one of his best games of the season. He stopped 45 of 48 shots on Saturday to earn the win in Edmonton.

"It kind of sends your confidence through the roof a little bit," Stolarz said. "It's nice to have those."

Woll made a spectacular stop on Corey Perry right at the buzzer. 

"Pretty special," said Rielly. "Big moment for Joe. He's a guy who works extremely hard and has played outstanding for us, and so for him to get a moment like that and get some shine is important and extremely well deserved."

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Defenceman Chris Tanev was behind Woll and ready to try and block Perry's shot at the buzzer. 

"Pucks were just bouncing everywhere," Tanev recalled. "I saw he was going to get the puck so I just tried to slide back there. It remains to be seen if I would've stopped it because Joe made a helluva save. I don't know, time may have ran out, but I didn't need to do anything because Joe was amazing."

Did Tanev ever play goalie as a kid? 

"Maybe for one summer when I young, when I was eight or nine," he said. "I think every kid goes through that, that phase, for sure."

He no longer wears the goalie equipment, but the 35-year-old doesn't hesitate to put his body in front of shots. Tanev is third in the NHL with 137 blocked shots. 

Tanev spent four seasons with the Flames and Tuesday will be his first game back in Calgary since a trade to the Dallas Stars last year. 

"I enjoyed my time a lot," he said. "It was a great part of my life. My son was born here and [I] met a tremendous amount of people and built a ton of relationships here that I'll have forever. It was a great place to play, and my family and I really enjoyed it."

Tanev, who leads the Leafs at plus-19 this season, even has fond memories of the aging Scotiabank Saddledome. 

"As much as it gets a bad rap, it was a fun place to play for me and I enjoyed it," he said. "I enjoyed being over there in that room. There's a lot of character, a lot of history, so it's a fun place to play."

A new arena is being built two blocks north of the Saddledome.

"I thought there'd be more done," Tanev said with a grin, "but I guess when you're digging in minus-30 degrees it probably takes a little bit longer." 

Tanev admitted it felt "weird" going to the visitors room on Monday. 

"It was definitely a really good period of my life," he said. "Now I'm in Toronto and you come in here and it feels different, but when you put the pads and skates on tomorrow it's all business."

The Flames played on Sunday in Seattle so Tanev didn't reach out to any old teammates. 

"They got in pretty late last night," he said. "I didn't really want to bug anyone today. I'm sure they're trying to get their rest." 

Once the puck drops on Tuesday, there will be no friends on the ice. The Leafs are three points back of the Florida Panthers in the race for first place in the Atlantic Division. The Flames have a two point lead on the Vancouver Canucks in the battle for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

"Both teams need wins," Tanev said. "Standings are tighter than ever, so I expect a really good game against a good team that's playing really well and playing hard."

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Jordan Bean and Sam Kim came through again for the Leafs on Saturday night. The team's video coaches radioed down to the bench and told Berube to challenge a potential tying goal by Leon Draisaitl, because John Klingberg appeared to be offside on the entry. Upon review, the play was indeed offside and the Leafs hung on to win 4-3. 

Despite the reprieve, Berube didn't like what happened on the disallowed goal, which came with the goalie pulled, as Connor McDavid threaded a pass through the slot to Draisaitl. Toronto spent the end of practice working on 5-on-6 coverage. 

"We got seamed a few times by Edmonton," Berube said. "We weren't in the right position. We kind of got a little mixed up on a couple different scenarios. Like, they get moving around pretty good, and they roll. We kind of lost coverage. I know the goal got called back, but that seam play, we can't give those seams up. So, wanted to go walk through it today. It's not something we practice all the time. It's more video based, but I thought it was good to walk through it today with the scenarios."

The Leafs have allowed a league-high 11 goals against when facing an empty net at the other end. 

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After United States President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian goods, the American anthem was booed at some sporting events in Canada over the weekend. 

Matthews, who will serve as Team USA's captain at the 4 Nations Face-Off, which starts in Montreal next week, was asked for his take. 

"I'm not going to get into politics," he said, "so I'll take the next question."

Trump delayed the tariffs for at least 30 days after a conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday. 

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Lines at Monday's practice: 

Knies - Matthews - Domi
Pacioretty - Tavares - Nylander 
McMann - Holmberg - Robertson
Lorentz - Kampf - Reaves

McCabe - Tanev 
Rielly - Myers 
Benoit - Timmins
Mermis

Woll 
Stolarz