Mitch Marner to return from ‘bizarre’ injury, join loaded Nylander line
The Toronto Maple Leafs will get two key players back in their lineup Thursday when they take on the Seattle Kraken. While Anthony Stolarz returns to a familiar spot between the pipes, Mitch Marner will join a new-look line next to William Nylander and John Tavares.
SEATTLE — Mitch Marner sounds as bewildered by his one-game injury as the rest of us.
“It was bizarre,” Marner said Thursday morning, ahead of his return to action in Seattle. “I felt great after the (Edmonton) game. The next day, too. And then it just kind of sprung upon (the) following day. It was crazy.”
An unspecified spasm that popped up after the Toronto Maple Leafs spent an Albertan off-day at a Nordic spa sidelined Marner from practice and a game in Calgary.
“Something locked up on me for a day and a half,” said the team’s leading scorer, who has only missed one game. “Throughout the day of that Calgary game, I started really getting back to normal, and then yesterday felt 100 per cent.”
Head coach Craig Berube liked enough of what he saw from Max Domi on Auston Matthews’ right wing during Tuesday’s win over the Flames to keep that new-look top line rolling.
So, Marner makes his return on a stacked “second” line beside John Tavares and William Nylander, a 33-goal right shot skating on the left wing. (He also replaces defenceman Morgan Rielly on the first unit of a suddenly hot power play.)
“With his skill set and his speed out there, I’m gonna try to really utilize that and get him in good spots with the puck in his hands with open ice,” the playmaking Marner said.
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Marner’s chemistry with Tavares is well established, and removing veteran Max Pacioretty from the top six makes for a wise matchup against the Kraken’s speed and penchant for quick transition strikes.
Berube trusts Nylander’s ability to take pucks off the wall on his forehand and drive to middle ice.
“It’ll be lots of fun,” said Nylander, equally excited by the return of goalie Anthony Stolarz.
After undergoing a knee operation, Stolarz has been ramping up his reps and conditioning to squeeze in a start before the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
His return to action arrives exactly eight weeks from injury, and his .927 save percentage has stood tall among the league’s best.
“He was on fire. I mean, he single-handedly won games for us,” Nylander said. “So, it’s nice to have a guy like that back in the lineup, and hopefully he’s feeling good.”
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Does Berube expect a rusty tendy?
“That’s a good question. Who knows?” the coach replied.
“But we got to do a good job in front of him. We got to make sure that we’re tight tonight. We’re eliminating their rush game. They have a very good rush game. We don’t need to be giving those guys chances off the rush.
“We got to check hard tonight.”
Puck drops at Climate Pledge Arena at 10 p.m. ET.
Maple Leafs lineup Thursday at Seattle Kraken:
Knies – Matthews – Domi
Nylander – Tavares – Marner
McMann – Holmberg – Robertson
Pacioretty – Kämpf – Lorentz
Rielly – Ekman-Larsson
McCabe – Tanev
Benoit – Myers
Stolarz starts
Woll
