Leafs hope Marner's big moment for Canada is a sign of things to come

The Maple Leafs practised at Ford Performance Centre in Toronto on Friday.

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Mitch Marner came through for Team Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game. The Toronto Maple Leafs winger produced two primary assists against Team USA, including setting up the overtime winner by Connor McDavid. 

"It's special," Marner told reporters in Boston. "It means a lot. I mean, unfortunately, [the previous] times I've worn the Canadian jersey, we haven't had as great success as we did in this tournament. So, it feels good."

Team Canada lost in the quarterfinals at the 2016 World Juniors even though Marner scored twice in the elimination game. One year later, Marner was part of the Canadian squad that lost in a shootout in the gold medal game at the World Championship. Marner produced 12 points in 10 games, but was foiled on the final shootout attempt.  

There's also been difficult defeats with the blue Maple Leaf on his chest over the years. Toronto has won just one playoff series in Marner's first eight NHL seasons. So, Thursday's win may impact Marner more than most of Team Canada's roster, which featured 15 Stanley Cup champions. 

What can he take away from the final? 

"Confidence," Marner said. "Belief also in a way. I'll try to take this the rest of the season and moving forward."

"Awesome moment for him and the team and for Canada," said Leafs centre John Tavares, who won gold at the 2014 Olympics and 2016 World Cup. "Certainly great for him to allow that to propel himself going forward, not just the play that he made, but just the whole participation in the tournament."

Marner's hockey IQ is elite as is his playmaking, but the 27-year-old has struggled to produce consistently in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Most recently, he mustered just one goal and two assists in last spring's seven game loss to the Bruins. 

Marner has produced just two assists during his six winner-take-all games in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Toronto lost all those games – five Game 7s and one Game 5 in the bubble playoffs – including three defeats in Boston. On Thursday, it was finally a different story for Marner inside TD Garden. He smiled as he lifted the championship trophy over his head while his parents, brother and wife looked on. 

"Relief in a way," he said of what went through him. "A cool feeling."

The stakes felt sky high as best-on-best play returned in a politically-charged climate.

"Just great hockey," Tavares said. "That's as high as the level can go, really."

And Marner proved he could handle the heat. He set up Florida Panthers winger Sam Bennett for the game-tying goal in the second period on Thursday, which set the stage for his golden moment in overtime. 

McDavid heaped praise on Marner for exploiting a weakness in Team USA's defensive-zone structure to create the opportunity.

"If they get crossed up that spot can be open," the Edmonton Oilers centre told reporters. "Mitchy, you did a great job of finding it."

And then Marner found McDavid, a longtime rival growing up in the Toronto area, wide open in the slot. 

"It's a bang-bang play and not many guys can make that play," Berube said. "Playing with the best players in the world and being in that environment, and being in that stressed situation, is good for our players to experience."

Marner also scored an overtime winner in Canada's first game against Sweden, which was one of the most important moments in the tournament. Without that goal, Canada doesn't get a rematch against the Americans in the championship game.  

Marner overcame adversity during the short tournament as well. He was bumped off the McDavid line during the 3-1 loss to the Americans in the round robin. But when it got to crunch time in the final, head coach Jon Cooper went back to Marner with McDavid. 
"That kid can make plays," Cooper told the assembled media in Boston. "As we saw, he just needed one chance to make a play and he did."

And now Marner can enjoy it. 

"I messaged him this morning," Tavares said with a smile. "I haven't heard back so hopefully he's getting a lot of sleep. If he's not that's OK too. Obviously, I'm sure any time you accomplish something really unique and special you want to soak it in and enjoy it." 

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Marner's pass to McDavid went right by centre Auston Matthews, who was looking to close in on his Leafs teammate. 

"Man, he played a great game," Marner told reporters. "Auston's my guy. He's been my guy since Day 1. We've been through a lot of s--t together. And, unfortunately, we were against each other."

Matthews matched Marner with two primary assists in the game.

"What a warrior he was," Marner added. 

Matthews wasn't at 100 per cent during the event. He missed Monday's final round robin game against Sweden, which didn't mean anything to Team USA in the standings, to rest an upper-body ailment that popped up during the tournament. 

Matthews accounted for three of Team USA's six shots in overtime, but could not beat a locked-in Jordan Binnington. 

"He had opportunities to end that game with the puck on his stick," Berube said. "It didn't happen, but I thought he was excellent the whole tournament."

Matthews finished with three assists in three games. 

"He's creating opportunities for everyone," said Leafs top-line winger Matthew Knies. "I think if he's not scoring, he's creating opportunities and he's creating chances and making things happen. Yeah, he did phenomenal."

Matthews, who served as Team USA's captain, picked up an assist in the win over Canada in Montreal and averaged 20 minutes and 26 seconds of ice time per game during the tournament. USA coach Mike Sullivan praised the 27-year-old for leading the team with a quiet confidence. 

Like Marner, Matthews feels he can also benefit from the experience. 

"I think there's a lot that you can take away and, you know, kind of utilize and process as we continue into the last couple months of our season," Matthews told reporters. "I feel very fortunate to have this experience."

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Despite the quick turnaround, Matthews and Marner are expected to reunite on Toronto's top line during Saturday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes. 

"It is tough for me to say what they are feeling and how they feel," Berube said. "I texted both of them last night and congratulated both of them. We'll see tomorrow."

The Leafs played four games over 10 days on the road heading into the 4 Nations event so Matthews and Marner haven't spent much time at home lately. 

The tournament only featured four games for Marner and three for Matthews, but these were not normal games. Thursday's championship showdown, in particular, seemed to take a lot out of everyone. 

"There is a lot put into the game," Berube said. "Emotionally, it will be interesting to see. It is a mental grind to be in that environment shift after shift."

William Nylander played three games at the tournament with Team Sweden. The Leafs winger returned to practice on Friday. 

"I think it will be not too bad," said the 28-year-old, who last played on Monday in Sweden's win over the United States. "At least I got a few days off. They're coming here to play tomorrow so that's a little bit tougher. We've been playing hockey the entire time so we're lucky that way. I mean, a lot of players in the league have been off."

Calle Jarnkrok, who is still working his way back from sports hernia and groin surgery, and recent call-up Alex Steeves filled in as placeholders on Toronto's top line beside Knies at Friday's practice. 
 
"I know that there's going to be a little soreness," Knies said of Matthews and Marner. "Those looked like challenging games, but a lot of guys are getting some rust off here and in this locker room so I don't think they'll have to worry about that too much. Hopefully they come back and have a lot of confidence and really help our team." 

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Knies wasn't playing on Thursday night, but the 22-year-old from Phoenix still had skin in the game and not just because he's a proud American. 

"I'm upset, obviously," he said. "I had a few friendly bets in here in this locker room ... Just a few hundred bucks, but I don't have to worry about that too much."

Although his coach is eager to collect. 

"I got some money off of Kniesy," said Berube, who accurately predicted a 3-2 Canada win before the game. "He hasn't paid me yet, so I told him it would be more tomorrow."

Knies pointed out that the United States will get a shot at revenge at the 2026 Olympics in Italy. He said he's looking forward to watching that. 

The University of Minnesota product wore the stars and stripes at the 2022 Olympics when NHL players did not attend.

"I always stay motivated and want to earn my chance to get to play for my country again," said Knies, who suited up for Team USA at the 2022 World Juniors. "I got to work my tail off to earn that chance. I saw that [Tavares] said he was a little jealous and I think everyone was a little jealous. That's fun hockey to be a part of. I'll stay motivated and see what happens."

Knies is tied for 10th among American forwards with 21 goals this season. He's scored 18 goals in 5-on-5 play, which is tied for eighth overall in the entire league. 

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Tavares didn't see the McDavid goal on Thursday night. 

"I went to bed after the third period," the father of three said with sheepish smile. "I turned it on this morning. My kids get up at the same time. You never know how long the game is going to go with how well both teams were playing, how tight the game was."

Overtime started at 11:15 pm and the routine-oriented Tavares was already pushing it. 

"Usually I like to get to bed a little bit earlier," the 34-year-old said. "You definitely stay up, but then once you go to OT it's not like what we saw Saturday with 3-on-3 [between Canada and Sweden], and it's 10 minutes [long]. That's the nice thing about DVR. I was able to tape it and then wake up and watch the end of it with my family."

Tavares is as detailed a player as you'll find and sleep is a crucial component of staying in top shape and fending off Father Time.  

"I love as much as I can get," he said. "There's nights that are better than others, but any time you can get a good solid eight hours it puts you up for success. I wouldn't say I got quite that, but I was happy I got what I got and saw a good result when I woke up."

After missing time with a knee injury, Tavares returned for Toronto's four games before the 4 Nations break and produced a goal and two assists. 

"I was really happy to get back before the break," he said. "I wasn't really sure with the injury if that was going to be possible. I knew it was going to be tight and a lot of credit to our performance and medical staff for helping me get back and playing after missing a little over two weeks. So, feeling even better from that."

The upcoming schedule will test all the Leafs, but especially the older players. Starting Saturday, Toronto will play nine games in eight cities over 17 days. 

With that in mind, Tavares made a point of maximizing the practice time this week. He worked with skating consultant Paul Matheson before Friday's practice and stayed out late to do a session with Patrick O'Sullivan from the team's player development staff. Matheson and O'Sullivan don't travel with the team. 

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Veteran winger Max Pacioretty, who tweaked something prior to Wednesday's practice, skated briefly on Friday, but didn't stay out for the main workout. 

"He didn't feel well enough with what happened the other day," Berube said. "It is more that he needs to get relief. It is not so much an injury, I don't believe, as much as he has some tightness. He could come in tomorrow and feel a lot better. He said he felt better today, which is good, but he was just not capable of getting out there and practising yet."

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Lines at Friday's practice: 

Knies - Jarnkrok* - Steeves*
McMann - Tavares - Nylander
Domi - Holmberg - Robertson 
Lorentz - Kampf - Dewar 

McCabe - Tanev 
Rielly - Ekman-Larsson 
Benoit - Timmins 
Reaves - Myers 

Stolarz and Woll

*Placeholders for Matthews & Marner 

Power play units at Friday's practice: 

QB: Rielly *

Flanks: Nylander, Steeves*

Middle: Tavares 

Net front: Knies 

QB: Rielly 

Flanks: Domi, Ekman-Larsson 

Middle: Robertson 

Net front: McMann 

*Placeholders for Matthews & Marner