Rested Matthews will play, Maple Leafs’ Marner ‘enjoying’ his job

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“Just rest.”

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That was Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube’s answer when he was asked Saturday morning why captain Auston Matthews didn’t take part in the full morning skate at Scotiabank Arena.

Has Matthews, who has 23 goals in 50 games this season and just three in his past 16 games, been dealing with anything, or was he absent for maintenance reasons?

“Just rest,” Berube said, repeating himself without elaborating.

We don’t have to tell you that it’s unusual for a player to miss a morning skate following a full day off.

If you’ve been thinking that Matthews has been playing through an injury — an upper-body issue has caused him to miss 15 games this season — feel free to keep speculating.

Matthews, who has not missed a game since Jan. 2, will be in the lineup on Saturday night for the latest Battle of Ontario.

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Mitch Marner, meanwhile, was available to media for the first time since last weekend, when general manager Brad Treliving said on Sunday that he supports Marner “1,000 per cent.”

“Hockey-wise, nothing,” Marner said when he was asked what the last week has been like for him, after it became public knowledge that he turned down a Leafs request to waive his no-movement clause to facilitate a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes.

“I’m just out here playing hockey with these guys, and I’m enjoying that,” Marner said.

And how about Treliving saying he is fully behind you?

“Yeah, that’s great,” Marner said. “Like I said, I’m here to play hockey with these guys, I’m excited for that.”

Never a dull moment in Leafs Nation, is there?

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Despite Matthews’ lack of scoring, Berube is satisfied when looking at the bigger picture.

“It weighs on everybody, a player like that (not scoring with expected regularity),” Berube said. “He wants to help the team by putting the puck in the net.

“He is getting the opportunities. That hasn’t really changed from last year. It’s not going in as much this year, but his overall game, for me, I’ll go off last game. He did a great job defensively, going up against (the Florida Panthers’ Aleksander) Barkov, one of the best in the league. He’s doing a lot of good things.”

With the Leafs having won once in their past five games, Berube has refreshed his forward lines.

Max Domi will be on the right wing on the Matthews line with Matthew Knies on the left, while Mitch Marner will play with John Tavares and Bobby McMann.

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Scott Laughton will centre William Nylander and Calle Jarnkrok; Pontus Holmberg will be in the middle on the fourth line with Steven Lorentz and Nick Robertson.

David Kampf will be a healthy scratch, while Robertson will get back in after he was scratched the past two games.

“I’m just mixing it up a little bit,” Berube said. “Sometimes players get a little stale playing with each other for quite some time, and it gives a little bit more depth on three lines.”

Anthony Stolarz will start in goal for Toronto. For Ottawa, Linus Ullmark will be in net.

Senators captain Brady Tkachuk will be in the lineup after he tweaked something against Boston on Thursday and did not play in the final minutes of the game.

For the first time in a long time, the Battle of Ontario has some impact in the standings.

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The Sens, who have beaten the Leafs in two previous meetings and have outscored them 5-1, started the day five points clear in the first wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference. They haven’t made the playoffs since 2017.

And while the Tampa Bay Lightning might have something to say about it, some are already thinking about a meeting in the first round between the Leafs and Senators.

“Yes, we’re playing good hockey right now and we’ve put ourselves in a good position, but there’s a lot of hockey left, a lot of games left, and you can’t get your mind pushed forward too much,” Ottawa defenceman Thomas Chabot said. “You have to stay in the moment. It’s an away game in a building where the energy is going to be fun, facing a lot of talent, a lot of star power. It’s going to be a good challenge for us.”

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @koshtorontosun

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