Apr 11, 2017
Leafs' experience starts with Babcock and the 'pucker factor'
Going into their series against the Washington Capitals, the Toronto Maple Leafs don’t have much playoff experience on their bench. But as TSN's Kristen Shilton writes, they still have quite a bit behind it.
TORONTO - The Toronto Maple Leafs don’t have much playoff experience on their bench. They do, however, have quite a bit behind it.
Mike Babcock has coached in 144 postseason games, with 82 wins and his name on the Stanley Cup. That experience comes with the loftiest highs, but also the most crushing lows.
When he left the Anaheim Ducks to take over as head coach in Detroit in 2005, they won the Presidents' Trophy that season and earned the second-most wins in franchise history (58). Detroit held every advantage on paper heading into a first-round playoff series against the Edmonton Oilers, but it didn’t do them any good. Detroit was defeated in six games, shuffled into the offseason by the first-ever eighth-seed to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
Players and coaches tend to remember the losses more vividly than the wins. And with his ‘eighth-seed’ Leafs taking on the President’s Trophy-winning Washington Capitals beginning Thursday, Babcock knows how it feels being on the other side.
“That ‘pucker factor’ is an unbelievable thing,” he said after practice on Tuesday. “And until you’ve been the best seed, until you have your whole city expecting, you don’t what that’s like and how good a defence that is for the underdog.
“My first year in Detroit I hadn’t seen anything like it - I couldn’t believe how we couldn’t skate or pass. Pressure is a wonderful thing when you’re the underdog.”
When comparing the numbers and level of experience of each club, the Leafs appear to have longshot odds of beating the Capitals. Washington finished 23 points ahead of them in the standings with 15 more wins. They’ve been in the postseason nine of the last 10 seasons, while Toronto has been there just twice in the same stretch. The Capitals scored the third-most goals this season (3.18 per game) and gave up the fewest (2.16), while Toronto scored the fifth-most (3.05), while allowing the eighth-most (2.85).
Combining all the playoff experience of the 20 skaters projected to be in the Leafs’ lineup on Thursday amounts to 293 games - with 100 of those belonging to Brian Boyle alone. The Capitals have an edge in every category, making them a formidable foe.
“Obviously we’re not favoured to win, this is the Presidents’ Trophy winners,” said Auston Matthews, who finished second in the league in regular season goals. “You just take it game by game.
“You want to respect your opponent, but you definitely don’t want to fear them. I think for them it’s the same. I don’t think they can take us lightly. I think we’ve surprised a lot of teams this year, and we’re definitely ready as a team.”
The Leafs have faced off against the Capitals three times this season, with two of the matchups coming on the second night of a back-to-back for one of the clubs (the rested team won each time). Their game on Jan. 3 saw Toronto chase starting goaltender Braden Holtby out with three goals on eight shots and hold three different leads. But they blew them all to lose 6-5 in overtime.
Mitch Marner was the Leafs’ leading contributor in the season series with five points (two goals, three assists) and Evgeny Kuznetsov and Justin Williams paced the Capitals with four points each (one goal, three assists). Toronto holds the special teams advantage, scoring four of its 10 goals on 15 power play opportunities (27 per cent), compared to two of 12 goals on nine chances for the Capitals (22 per cent).
There are definite lessons to be taken from the regular season, but playoffs are at a different level most of Toronto’s lineup isn’t accustomed to. The lack of skating room will take getting used to, but whatever they’re headed for, the Leafs aren’t going to reinvent the proverbial wheel.
“We just want to play our game, play the right way, and our structure,” explained Matthews. “We have the skill to make plays, but we don’t want to trade chances with them.
“You don’t want to change too much. You adjust to your opponent and their strengths and their weaknesses but we’re not going to flip a total 180 on the way we’ve been playing this year.”
Toronto has maintained a solid level of consistency all season, never losing more than three games in a row in regulation and ending their longest skid at five games. Adding Boyle before the trade deadline was the Leafs’ reward for putting themselves in good position to make the postseason - and they’ve delivered. Washington’s longest run without a win was four games and securing the biggest deadline prize in Kevin Shattenkirk has given the Capitals even more playoff pedigree.
That all said, the Leafs understand how they’re being labeled and they’ve heard derivatives of it all season. And for at least one more series, they’ll embrace that underdog moniker - whether or not they have a choice.
“Everyone is talking about how good Washington is, but we have a lot of belief in our guys and the people in this room,” said defenceman Morgan Rielly. “Our coach is going to get us prepared.
“Mentally it’s up to us to get ready to go and rise to the challenge. [Washington] had an outstanding year. They have lots of speed, lots of skill, they’re deep, have playoff experience, you name it. They’ve been down this road before and obviously we’re new to it. We’re going to go in, have a game plan in place and work hard.”
Injury updates
- Frederik Andersen left the second period of Saturday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins early in the second period with an upper-body injury and did not return. Andersen also did not play in Sunday’s regular season finale, but Babcock said he wasn’t experiencing concussion symptoms and said he should be ready for Game 1. Andersen was a full practice participant on Tuesday and Babcock reiterated he should be the team’s starter come Thursday. Andersen refused to confirm on Tuesday whether or not he had any concussion symptoms, but was hopeful he’d be in the lineup in Washington.
- Nikita Zaitsev and Roman Polak were both absent from Tuesday’s practice with an upper and lower body injury respectively. Babcock said each was progressing, and he was “optimistic” they’d be ready to play, but “I can’t guarantee anything.” Zaitsev left Sunday’s game in the first period after taking a hit along the boards from Nick Foligno and looked disoriented when he departed. The rookie did try to return in the second period before leaving for good. Polak also left the game on Sunday in the second period, but returned to the bench for the third frame. The veteran took just one shift in that period while remaining with the team for the duration.
- Tyler Bozak was not a participant in Tuesday’s practice, but as has been the case for him the last month, his absence was due to maintenance.