Maple Leafs Reveal Line Combinations for First Game Back After 4 Nations Face-Off

As Mitch Marner returns from a successful 4 Nations tournament that saw him assist on Connor McDavid's overtime winner, Auston Matthews deals with another heartbreaking loss and mysterious injury, the Leafs were back at practice on Friday.

Without Matthews and Marner, Calle Jarnkrok and Alex Steeves acted as place-holders next to Matthew Knies on the Leafs' top line. William Nylander, who returned to Toronto earlier in the week, made his first appearance at practice in his usual spot next to John Tavares and Bobby McMann.

Following a few games with Matthews on the top line, Max Domi has been relegated back to the third line with Pontus Holmberg and Nicholas Robertson while Ryan Reaves appears to be a scratch as Connor Dewar rejoined David Kampf and Steven Lorentz on the fourth line.

On the back end, Morgan Rielly and Jake McCabe had their usual partners in Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson while Simon Benoit skated alongside Conor Timmins.

Whether Matthews and Marner suit up for Saturday's game remains to be seen, but from what has been reported, many teams are expected to give players from Canada and the United States Saturday's game off at the least.

Should Matthews and Marner choose to take an extra day, we will likely see Steeves finally get an opportunity to show he can produce at the NHL level the same way he does in the AHL.