On Thursday night, Marner lined up on Toronto’s fourth line, with veterans Matt Martin and Dominic Moore. On a night where the Leafs chased and needed offence, Marner played 16:28, fourth among Toronto forwards. Just keep on, and if you’re a good player it’ll all turn good.” And he’s good, so this won’t last. Babcock believes in pairs, and though he played Marner and Matthews together in a few spots last year, he didn’t pair the master playmaker with the master finisher, even though they’re buddies. Which means playing with Bozak and James van Riemsdyk, a pair, and a line where Marner is the best puck retriever available.

Source: thestar October 27, 2017 01:52 UTC