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SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

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TSN Toronto reporter Mark Masters checks in daily with news and notes from Maple Leafs practices and game-day skates. The Leafs held a team meeting on Friday in preparation for Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Washington Capitals. 

- In his post-game news conference on Thursday, head coach Mike Babcock was pretty positive. He described Toronto's Game 1 performance as a "confidence builder" for his young group. On Friday, however, the Leafs head coach was singing a different tune.

"After the game I thought we were pretty good and then when I watched the game I didn't think we were near as good as we're capable of being, not near as quick. I didn't think we skated as good as we could've in the second half of the game. And I thought a number of our guys can elevate their game for sure and we'll see that tomorrow. We'll be way better tomorrow. That was our No. 1 message to our team: We can be better, so let's be better."

In terms of a specific adjustment, Babcock wants his players to be far less patient in the offensive zone. "I really thought we passed up a ton of opportunities to shoot the puck last night trying to make a better play," Babcock noted. "A better play at playoff time – there's no better play. You just get it to the net and get people to the net without it. Shoot the pill."

- The players who met with the media on Friday at the Verizon Center struck a confident note. "We're not discouraged," Nazem Kadri insisted. "We're going to keep coming and that game's certainly not going to intimidate us." Kadri wasn't buying the idea that the Capitals were caught off guard in Game 1. "I don't think Washington's a naive team. They're smart, they're well-coached, they're well-educated, so I don't think they took us lightly. They understood who they're playing against." 

There was lots of hooting and hollering as the Leafs played some hallway soccer during their off-ice workout on Friday. Nobody seemed too down after losing a heartbreaker in Game 1. "There's lots of people asking if it was a missed opportunity for us, but I think the most important aspect of it is that we move on and learn from what happened," said alternate captain Morgan Rielly. "To go out there last night and get that good feeling going where we know we can keep up and play with them is important and moving forward it just gives us confidence to say, 'We're right there.'"

Rielly was one of nine Leafs players who made their NHL playoff debut on Thursday. The defenceman logged more than 24 minutes of ice time with Babcock calling it one of his best games of the season. "Being the first game and all the excitement and all the energy, you come out and you expect yourself to play well and play hard and now it's a question of if we can go out there and do it consistently," Rielly said. "We're going to do everything we can to make sure that happens."

- The Leafs did an excellent job containing the Capitals top line with Alexander Ovechkin limited to just one shot on net. Head coach Barry Trotz said he didn't have any matchups in mind at the start of the first period on Thursday, so he allowed Kadri's unit, which includes Leo Komarov and Connor Brown, to play against Nicklas Backstrom, Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie. But after a sluggish start, Trotz decided to avoid that matchup. "I wanted to play against them the whole game, but I saw as the game went on they were kind of mixing and matching so they wouldn't put them out against us," Kadri noted. "It does give us a bit of confidence. We knew we could do it off the bat, but being able to do it for a long shift of time is a whole different story."

Ovechkin has been a consistent postseason producer in his career racking up 82 points in 85 games. "It's a battle," Babcock admitted. "Ovie only needs one shot. Backstrom is a big man. As much as you pressure Backstrom, he puts his big ass into you and he holds you off and makes those plays on his backhand that are elite. He's a real, real hockey player that guy. Oshie is playing well for them. He's a good catalyst. He's got good skill, he's got good grit, he shoots the puck well, he's on it, he's tenacious on it. That's a good line."

- Adding to the challenge for the Leafs will be the continued absence of Nikita Zaitsev. The defenceman worked out on a stationary bike on Friday, but was held off the ice once again. "He didn't skate today," Babcock confirmed. "I was lobbying the best I could, but they don't much care much what I say." Zaitsev will miss a second straight game with an upper-body injury (suspected concussion). Babcock said he isn't contemplating any changes to his blue line, which means Martin Marincin, whose turnover led to the overtime winner in Game 1, will stay in.  

- Tyler Bozak averaged 0.58 hits per game in the regular season, but in Game 1 of the playoffs he was credited with seven. "I saw that," said linemate James van Riemsdyk with a chuckle. "I almost had to do a double take there. That may have doubled his hits for the whole year." Kadri smiled when asked about his fellow centre’s burst of brawn. "I thought it was a typo," he noted with a laugh before adding, "I mean, he's obviously bought in. That's how we got to play. We got to be physical."

Overall, the Leafs had 47 hits on Thursday night after averaging 23.6 per game in the regular season. Babcock didn't exactly see this as a positive development. "I didn't think we skated as good in the third and the overtime as we could have," the coach again noted. "I thought we watched too much. I think that leads you to be more physical. If you skate better because you're arriving, you're not in-between all the time."

- In a rare move, Auston Matthews did not speak with reporters on Friday. The rookie had done several lengthy sessions with journalists this week so the team's media relations staff decided to give him the day off from those duties. Matthews was held to one shot in his playoff debut on Thursday.