Chris Tanev could bring a unique set of defensive skills to Team Canada, depending on the specific qualities the team prioritizes for the upcoming mid-season tournament. The Toronto Maple Leafs are continuing to regain health at the forward position. Max Domi and Max Pacioretty each participated in their first practice with the Maple Leafs since going down with injuries. Domi has been out with a lower-body injury since Toronto's 4-3 overtime win over the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 16. Pacioretty has missed the last 12 games with a lower-body injury and is currently on long-term injured reserve. The veteran forward can return to the Maple Leafs lineup on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the earliest. "I think him and Patch are getting close," Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said after practice on Tuesday of Domi and Pacioretty. "I think it's great that they're in practice and [they will] continue to practice with us for a bit and when they get the clearance from the doctors, then they make the decision if they're good to go." Pacioretty suffered his injury late in the first period of Toronto's 4-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens. He was cross-checked in the back by Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson and fell to the ice, immediately grabbing the back of his left thigh. "Yeah, I mean, defense pushes me from behind while the shot's coming from our point, so I try and dodge the puck so it doesn't hit me in the face at the same time, and just got tangled up there," Pacioretty said on Tuesday of how the injury occurred. Given the forward's history of injuries, he said this ailment wasn't a mentally tough challenge for him. "I've been down this road before and do everything I can, use this time to maybe work on some areas that I can get better at, and that's how I've used the last three weeks." Pacioretty admitted after his first practice with the team since his injury that he feels "really good." However, being on LTIR, the forward is handcuffed on when he can return to the lineup. "Some of it's not in my control," he said, "but I feel really good." The Maple Leafs' game on Saturday against the Penguins is the second half of a back-to-back. And with it being the earliest date Pacioretty can return, he may get in the lineup for a forward who played the night prior. However, when asked on Tuesday if he and Toronto's staff have a target return date in mind, Pacioretty said they haven't spoken about it yet. "We haven't gone down that road, so my step today was first practice with the team, and obviously this time of year those don't come too often. So I took advantage of that, felt good, and I'm sure we'll meet here as we do almost every day and figure out the next step from there." The Maple Leafs have gone 6-2 since Pacioretty left the lineup. Most of that success has also come with Auston Matthews out of the lineup as he dealt with an upper-body injury. It's never easy to sit in the press box and watch while your teammates skate below you, but Pacioretty has been impressed with how Toronto has played with several injuries to their key players. "I just like that we're doing what it takes to win hockey games, and sometimes that's cracking down defensively. Sometimes that's trying to create a little bit more offense. Sometimes that's special teams, and then also sometimes you really need your goalies," Pacioretty said. "There's not one way to win in this league, and the teams that only know how to win one way normally don't go very far when it matters most. So we've won a lot of hockey games as of late, a lot of different ways, and those are what the best teams do."
