TORONTO -- There was a noticeable spring in the step of the Toronto Maple Leafs when they returned to practice Wednesday following a day off, an element of crispness and pace befitting of the style they know will be required during the final phase of the regular season.
The Maple Leafs will play for the first time since March 9 when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+, TSN4). With a rare four days off, it was as much a mental reset as it was an opportunity to recharge after a busy stretch of seven games in 12 days.
“It’s great, we’ll take it,” Toronto forward Max Domi said. “... It’s a nice time to gel as a group when you have a few new faces, so a couple of good practices and (coach Sheldon) Keefe giving us a couple days off was huge. The boys were fresh and flying and snapping it around out there, so that’s what you want to do and take full advantage of the four-day break, so to speak.
“It’s not about doing crazy-long practices, it’s just a matter of getting fresh and ready to play on Thursday against Philly.”
Toronto (37-19-8) enters with a 19-7-6 road record and 18-12-2 at home. It has won five of its past six road games, including 3-2 at Montreal last Saturday.
“We’ve had some good or call it gutsy efforts on the road in some tough circumstances at times,” Keefe said. “At home, we have been less consistent with our play with the puck and some of our defensive play and how we’ve managed games late. All those things have been less of issues on the road, for whatever reason.”
Forward Mitchell Marner will miss his second straight game with a lower-body injury sustained March 7 during a 4-1 loss at the Boston Bruins.
After William Nylander replaced Marner on a line with center Auston Matthews and left wing Tyler Bertuzzi against the Canadiens, Keefe had right wing Calle Jarnkrok in Nylander’s place at practice, shifting Nylander to a line with center John Tavares and Domi on the left. Matthews and Nylander were each held off the score sheet against the Canadiens.
“Didn’t like them together the other night, ‘Willy’ and Auston, that’s part of it, but also it’s more so just getting John and Willy together and getting [Nylander and Matthews] on different lines,” Keefe said. “Auston and Willy have played a lot of good minutes in their time together, so I don’t want to overthink how it went in Montreal. But it’s more about getting John and Will together and having Will and Auston on two different lines as we go into this week’s matchups.”
The four-day reset came at a good time for Toronto, which will embark on a stretch of 18 games over the final 35 days to conclude the regular season. It sits third in the Atlantic Division, nine points behind the second-place Bruins and eight ahead of the fourth-place Tampa Bay Lightning.
“We’re going to have plenty of ice time coming up here and the guys who are dealing with bumps and bruises; I think it can be beneficial to get some time off, and then you come back in here with a new focus and new energy and get right back to work,” defenseman Morgan Rielly said.
With not much opportunity for movement in the standings, Tavares said the Maple Leafs’ approach, beyond clinching a Stanley Cup Playoff berth, is to hone their game as best they can over the final stretch of the regular season.
“You want to keep building your game and knowing what this time of year becomes and what’s ahead, you want to be playing the style of hockey -- having the habits and the type of game that will bring you success come playoff time,” said Tavares, the Toronto captain. “So, first and foremost, earn your spot and do that by building your game the way it needs to be played at this time of year into April, May and June.”
