Auston Matthews & Mitch Marner Granted Special Exception by Craig Berube in Los Angeles

Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner had themselves a good game on Thursday night despite the loss to the San Jose Sharks.

Marner played over 25 minutes and came away with three assists while Matthews had a goal and an assist in the shootout defeat.

Overall, these guys got played a ton and you can imagine that they are feeling pretty tired given the fact that they are on a West Coast road trip.

This weekend, the Maple Leafs will be playing against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday and the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday. These games will be instrumental in the Atlantic Division race and it will be fascinating to see how it all plays out.

This is a very quick turnaround and immediately after last night's game, the Maple Leafs traveled into Los Angeles where moments ago, they hopped on the ice for practice.

According to Craig Berube, Matthews and Marner are not on the ice today because they have been given a day of rest following a night of overusage.

The Leafs were playing from behind quite a bit on Thursday night and as a result, the first line was double and triple shifted to keep the offense going. Needless to say, it is easy to see why the team's biggest stars would get a day off.

Tomorrow, they will certainly be back on the ice for morning skate as the Leafs look to beat a team that is poised to make the playoffs this season.

The Kings are a formidable opponent and it would be a huge mistake for the Maple Leafs to take them lightly. This is a game the Leafs must win if they want to win the Atlantic Division.

Hopefully, Marner and Matthews continue to get on a roll here, especially with Marner trying to secure the first 100-point season of his career.