<p>Hockey is a great sport and something that can bring out the best and worst in people, but every now and then, something happens in life that reminds us all that in the end, it&#8217;s just a game.</p>
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<p>Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nick Robertson knows this better than anybody right now. Robertson hails from Pasadena, California, right in the thick of the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires. Ahead of Tuesday night&#8217;s game against his brother Jason&#8217;s Dallas Stars, he took a moment to thank the firefighters who are back home working tirelessly to put them out.</p>
<p>Robertson revealed that despite his family home being in one of the hotspots, the fires have miraculously avoided it.</p>
<p>&#8220;Thankfully, the fire went right around our house,&#8221; Robertson said. &#8220;So, thank you to the firefighters there, obviously not a very good situation but thankfully my family is safe.&#8221;</p>
<p>Wildfires are prone to happen in a place like California, so when Robertson hears the word &#8216;fire&#8217; it doesn&#8217;t initially faze him. But he was quick to follow up with loved ones when he realized how dire the situation was.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve seen fires before, obviously, but this one, to this magnitude, is crazy,&#8221; Robertson told reporters. &#8220;Obviously, you&#8217;re calling your family members, seeing how they&#8217;re doing, and fortunately, our family hasn&#8217;t been affected by it. Obviously, there&#8217;s debris, so it&#8217;s still not good to go home, but it&#8217;s not at the point where the house is going down. It&#8217;s a terrible situation, just praying for it to end.&#8221;</p>
<p>Robertson was asked if it&#8217;s affected his day-to-day playing for the Leafs.</p>
<p>&#8220;A lot,&#8221; he said. Fortunately, like I said, not too badly affected by it, but I&#8217;m dealing with [playing in the NHL] and then I look at my phone and there&#8217;s fires, and you wonder where your family is. I just hope it&#8217;s fine.&#8221;</p>
<p>There&#8217;s no doubt that both Nick and Jason Robertson will be playing for their hometowns when they face off at Scotiabank Arena. The Maple Leafs have seen lots of recent success on the road in Dallas, and head coach Pete DeBoer joked that part of the game plan to beating the Leafs is winning the brother battle.</p>
<p>&#8220;They seem to have had our number in Dallas. For one, our Robertson has to play better than their Robertson,&#8221; DeBoer quipped to a wave of laughs. &#8220;That message is going to be delivered clearly to Jason. Obviously, I&#8217;m joking, but bigger than that, you need to play a really good game against them. If you&#8217;re off in one area, if your special teams are off, if your goaltending is off, they have too good of a team. They&#8217;ll make you pay.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Maple Leafs will look to snap a two-game losing streak against the Stars on Tuesday night.</p>
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Hockey is a great sport and something that can bring out the best and worst in people, but every now and then, something happens in life that reminds us all that in the end, it's just a game.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2106" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="324"></div>
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nick Robertson knows this better than anybody right now. Robertson hails from Pasadena, California, right in the thick of the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires. Ahead of Tuesday night's game against his brother Jason's Dallas Stars, he took a moment to thank the firefighters who are back home working tirelessly to put them out.

Robertson revealed that despite his family home being in one of the hotspots, the fires have miraculously avoided it.

"Thankfully, the fire went right around our house," Robertson said. "So, thank you to the firefighters there, obviously not a very good situation but thankfully my family is safe."

Wildfires are prone to happen in a place like California, so when Robertson hears the word 'fire' it doesn't initially faze him. But he was quick to follow up with loved ones when he realized how dire the situation was.

"I've seen fires before, obviously, but this one, to this magnitude, is crazy," Robertson told reporters. "Obviously, you're calling your family members, seeing how they're doing, and fortunately, our family hasn't been affected by it. Obviously, there's debris, so it's still not good to go home, but it's not at the point where the house is going down. It's a terrible situation, just praying for it to end."

Robertson was asked if it's affected his day-to-day playing for the Leafs.

"A lot," he said. Fortunately, like I said, not too badly affected by it, but I'm dealing with [playing in the NHL] and then I look at my phone and there's fires, and you wonder where your family is. I just hope it's fine."

There's no doubt that both Nick and Jason Robertson will be playing for their hometowns when they face off at Scotiabank Arena. The Maple Leafs have seen lots of recent success on the road in Dallas, and head coach Pete DeBoer joked that part of the game plan to beating the Leafs is winning the brother battle.

"They seem to have had our number in Dallas. For one, our Robertson has to play better than their Robertson," DeBoer quipped to a wave of laughs. "That message is going to be delivered clearly to Jason. Obviously, I'm joking, but bigger than that, you need to play a really good game against them. If you're off in one area, if your special teams are off, if your goaltending is off, they have too good of a team. They'll make you pay."

The Maple Leafs will look to snap a two-game losing streak against the Stars on Tuesday night.

<strong>Sponsored by bet365</strong>
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Nick Robertson thanks first responders battling wildfires in home state of California: ‘Praying for it to end’

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