Maple Leafs' Max Pacioretty Waiting On 'Pain Relief' With Status For Saturday In Doubt, Calle Jarnkrok Will Not Play This Weekend

Max Pacioretty's status for the Toronto Maple Leafs' upcoming home game remains in doubt after the veteran forward looked like he was going to skate, before leaving the ice entirely ahead of the team's practice on Friday.

Maple Leafs Craig Berube explained Pacioretty's ailment.

"Yeah, didn't feel good enough, you know, with what happened the other day. So I think it's more that he needs to get relief. It's not so much of an injury, I don't believe. It's just he's got some tightness and things like that. So I think it's just, you know, he could come in tomorrow and feel a lot better. You know, he felt, I thought he said he felt better today, which was good. But just not capable of getting out there and practicing yet."

Pacioretty has five goals and eight assists in 37 games this season. He signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the club.

Calle Jarnkrok continues to be a full participant at practice. Out since training camp following sports hernia surgery, the forward looks like he's nearing a return. However, Berube said the forward will not be an option for the club for the pair of weekend games against the Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago Blackhawks.

Berube spoke with reporters following Friday's practice on various topics, including Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner's performance in the 4 Nations Face-Off Final

Q: Some of the guys went to bed in the overtime of that game, were you one of them?

"No, I watched it, yeah. Yeah, it was exciting. So I wasn't going to miss it."

Q: Talk about your emotion watching that goal by McDavid.

"Yeah, no, I was, you know, it felt like I was kind of like there and involved because I got, you know, I just, I couldn't go to sleep after, you know. It's exciting, you know. It's great hockey to watch. I mean, fabulous hockey. And, you know, somebody's going to lose. It's tough, right? So, but overall, you know, really enjoyed the whole 4 Nations. I thought that NHL and the players, everybody involved did a great job. And, you know, it obviously turned out to be a lot of people involved in watching it, you know. So, which is great for the league."

Q: What went through your mind watching (Jordan) Binnington?

"Yeah, I've seen him do that before. Like, he was highly competitive in that game for me. You know, he likes, loves to challenge and he's got to recover on things. And he did on that one glove save. Like, you know, it's difficult for, like, the way he plays at times. It's a lot of effort, you know. And he put in a lot of effort last night. And he was great for Canada."

Q: John Cooper really kind of stood behind him. At that tournament. And then there was kind of a moment.

"Well, I think it was a great call because, you know, I get people can criticize goals that go in on goalies. And that happens. A bad goal here and there. But, you know, if you look at the whole body of work, he made a bunch of real good saves in the whole series."

Q; What do you think that performance can do for Mitch moving forward here?

"Yeah. No, I mean, I thought both our guys were excellent in the game. You know, Matty had it on his stick in overtime, too, and could have ended it. But I thought they both had a good tournament, which was great to see. And, you know, happy for Mitch, he won. And, you know, I'm unhappy for Matty that he didn't win.But I think, you know, going to a, you know, playing with the best players in the world and being in that environment and being in that stressed situation is good for our players. To experience that

Q: Yeah. And to thrive in it, too, right?

Yeah, to thrive in it. And he made a great play at the end. You know, it's a bang-bang play. And it's, you know, not many guys can make that play. That's a bang-bang play.

Q: And you predicted the final score.

"That's just luck." *laughs*

Q: Any other predictions you can share with us?

I thought it would be a tight game. You know, I really did. I thought that, you know, there's going to be a couple of goals scored. There's a lot of good players out there that can put the puck in the net. But, yeah, like I said, it was a great game."

Q: Did you get in on any of the bets that were going on around this room?

"I got some money from Kniesy *laughs* He hasn't paid me yet, so I said, it'll be more tomorrow."

Q: How tough a turnaround do you think that's going to be for Mitch and Auston tomorrow?

"Yeah, that depends. You know, I think they played the games, but they had time off there, too, from a physical standpoint. But there's a lot put into that game, obviously, by both teams and players. I think emotionally it'll be interesting to see. You know, I think it's a mental grind, you know, to be in that environment shift after shift. But, you know, that's tough for me to say what they're feeling and how they feel and all that. You know, I texted both of them last night and congratulated both of them. And, you know, we'll see you tomorrow.

Q: Did you hear back?

"Oh, yeah. *laughs* They got back to me. Good boys."

Q: What's a challenge for you tomorrow? Getting everybody back, back-to-back games?

"Yeah. It's crazy, yeah. Yeah, it's crazy for sure. But, you know, I think that we had some good practices here. It was a real good practice today, good pace. Guys are energized and are ready to go. So I think it's going to be a lot of energy out there."

Q:  It's going to be a lot of, you know, it'll be fast. I think it's going to be real fast. So I think it's simplifying your game and trying to get that timing back and things like that will be important.

"Because you've spent a lot of your career in both Canada and the United States."

Q: What did you make of all the tension? I've seen there's a lot of politics that went into the tension that was happening at that 4 Nations. What did you make of all that?

Well, you're asking the wrong guy when it comes to politics. I really don't get too involved in that. And I get it. There is tension and this and that. But, you know, that's people's choices. They have choices. And they have, you know, it's a free country.

Q: Mitch is getting a lot of attention because of the win. But what did you see from Auston last night? Two primary assists?

Yeah, well, I thought I saw a real good 200-foot game out of him the whole tournament. I thought he was really solid and, you know, did some real good things without the puck with his stick details and his positioning and things like that. And, you know, again, he had opportunities to end that game with the puck on his stick. It didn't happen. But I thought he was excellent the whole tournament.

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