KOSHAN: Oh, shoot! Marner’s goal a highlight of Leafs’ Blue-Wnite tuneup

And no, Thornton didn’t appear to have trouble keeping up with his younger linemates. Did you happen to notice the joy the three had in celebrating Marner’s goal? For good measure, Marner set up Matthews in the third period for Blue’s second goal.

By the time the game was done, Team White registered a 6-3 victory in what served as the lone prep match for the Leafs in the days leading up to the regular-season opener on Wednesday against the visiting Montreal Canadiens.

William Nylander, with two goals, captain John Tavares, Adam Brooks, Pierre Engvall and Nick Robertson scored for White. The first Nylander goal came off a tip of a shot by Mikko Lehtonen, who made a fine first impression in his first look in a Leafs uniform. The second Nylander goal also was set up by Lehtonen.

Jason Spezza scored Blue’s other goal.

Backup goalie Jack Campbell stood out. Engvall skated between Ilya Mikheyev and Zach Hyman, taking the place of Alex Kerfoot (leg) on what will be the Leafs’ third line to start. That’s a workable option for coach Sheldon Keefe if Kerfoot is not able to return in time for Wednesday.

There was the general rust one might have expected, and with no actual exhibition games, we figure it will be a while before we see consistently crisp hockey once the season starts.

Never mind the game, what was most important to come out of Saturday was an observation revealed by Keefe during his morning availability.

Keefe indicated he has witnessed a major change in the team’s overall spirit with the season just around the corner.