Toronto Maple Leafs fans noticed something during the team's 4-3 overtime victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday: Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner playing on the same line.
Coach Mike Babcock paired the young forwards together as he looked to mix things up, especially with injured captain John Tavares out. Marner usually plays on Tavares' wing, but on Saturday he was placed alongside Matthews and Andreas Johnsson to start the game against Boston's top line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak.
#Leafs announced starters: Johnsson-Matthews-Marner, Rielly-Ceci. Andersen.
— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) October 19, 2019
Going head-to-head with Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak, Chara-McAvoy. Halak.
oh baby. pic.twitter.com/fJlP10757R
MORE: Marner, Matthews combine for highlight-reel goal vs. Wild
Many Leafs fans have been eager to see Matthews and Marner play together more outside of the power play ever since the duo entered the NHL in 2016, but it appears that keeping them together is not in Babcock's long-term plans.
Saturday, he said, was all about maximizing matchups at both ends of the rink.
"We had talked about it two days ago. We kind of knew what we were going to do," Babcock said of pairing his 22-year-old stars. "We were going to play Willy [William Nylander] with [Matthews] when he was in the offensive zone, and that way it would set up when it was a matchup situation, we were going to play Mitchy. If we went with Matty in the O-zone, we wanted Mitchy to play with [Alexander Kerfoot] so we could match that up, and then we were going to match up [Frederik Gauthier] in D-zone."
Whatever the circumstances, Marner and Matthews made it obvious Saturday just how well they complement each. They were on the ice for both of Morgan Rielly's goals, the second being the overtime winner. Marner picked up assists on both and Matthews recorded a helper on one.
Their interplay really shone on Rielly's OT goal.
"Two really good players going back and forth with it," Rielly said of Marner and Matthews' influence on the goal, which was originally credited to Marner. "When they’re on the ice together, it’s great. You just kind of let them do the work."
Despite those glimpses of magic, Babcock remained noncommittal about taking the youngsters off their regular lines too often. Marner posted a team-high 94 points on a line with Tavares and the now-injured Zach Hyman last season, while Matthews has built an imposing rapport with Johnsson and Nylander. Don't look for those lines to be broken up any time soon, at least once Tavares, Hyman and Johnsson — who left Saturday's game with what Babcock described as a minor leg injury — are healthy.
"I'm tempted to have the best lineup we can and if that's them together, then I'd do that," Babcock said. "John Tavares is a pretty good player, too, and that line, when we get Hyman back, that's a pretty dominant, dominant line for us. Matty and [Johnsson] and Willy have been a good line for us as well. I don't know what's going to happen, I can't predict that. I just know that you go day to day."