The Toronto Maple Leafs held their final practice of their regular season opener. Fraser Minten and Noah Gregor earn spots in the opening-night lineup. BRANDON, Fla. — Tyler Bertuzzi is feeling better and should be in the lineup when his Toronto Maple Leafs visit the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Saturday. There were concerns over his status when Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe revealed on Thursday following the team's 3-1 loss to the Florida Panthers that Bertuzzi was not 100 percent and that it was possible that the big winger could miss a game during the team's five-game road trip. That won't be the case for Saturday's game. Bertuzzi took part in the full session. "I'm feeling a lot better," Bertuzzi said . The Leafs called up forward Pontus Holmberg from the Toronto Marlies and sent down Simon Benoit just in case Bertuzzi couldn't play. But even with the forward good to go, Holmberg appears set to make his season debut in place of rookie center Fraser Minten, who skated as the extra forward during the team's practice at TGH Ice Plex on Friday. The Maple Leafs signed Bertuzzi to a one-year, $5.5 million contract in July. He has played in every game on the club's top line alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. But Bertuzzi saw himself down on the third line to begin the second period of Thursday's game on a new line with David Kampf and Max Domi. Bertuzzi wasn't told that the move was a temporary one due to his health but understood why Keefe went that way when the club was down 2-0 after 20 minutes to their divisional rival. "It’s just part of the game," Bertuzzi said. "Some guys were going better yesterday, We needed something to try and get a spark." Bertuzzi was back on the top line alongside Matthews and Marner. Through four regular season games, Bertuzzi is still trying to lock in on the chemistry with Toronto's stars. He has just one goal in four games. "I think it's a work in progress for them, for sure," Keefe admitted. "Bert's a guy who does a lot of great work below the circles in the offensive zone. That's where he's at his best. "Some other areas of his game are playing with Austin and Mitch, it's harder to adjust to the pace and the skill that they play with coming out of our zone, but he's been really effective below the circles, which is what he does, who he is. So Auston and Mitch need to consistently get the puck to those areas, and I think you'll see it start to thrive." Matthews has enjoyed skating with Bertuzzi, even if they haven't optimized their performance with him as of yet. "I think as time just continues to go on and more repetitions together as a line we’ll just have a better idea of where each other likes to be and we’ll find that chemistry a little bit easier," Matthews said. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAwNTk1MTUxMDE2NDM2ODQ0/cf1808c0-6a82-4298-9049-3eb2eae105b0.jpg] Related Why the Maple Leafs Called Up Pontus Holmberg From the Marlies [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/why-the-maple-leafs-called-up-pontus-holmberg-from-the-marlies] Maple Leafs Call Up Forward Pontus Holmberg and Send Down Defenseman Simon Benoit [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/maple-leafs-call-up-forward-pontus-holmberg-and-send-down-defenseman-simon-benoit] Maple Leafs Can't Properly Assess Goaltending Until Defense Improves [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/maple-leafs-cant-properly-assess-goaltending-until-defense-improves] News from THN.com Sleepers and Keepers Podcast: Big Fantasy Hockey Questions from Week 1 [https://thehockeynews.com/podcast/sleepers-and-keepers-podcast-big-fantasy-hockey-questions-from-week-1] Canucks' Conor Garland Draws More Interest in the NHL Trade Market [https://thehockeynews.com/news/canucks-conor-garland-draws-more-interest-in-the-nhl-trade-market] NHL Three Stars: Hill, Pettersson and Matthews Shine in Week One [https://thehockeynews.com/news/nhl-three-stars-hill-pettersson-and-matthews-shine-in-week-one]
