Leafs look to return to desperation form in Game 6

TORONTO – There is no guarantee of tomorrow for this Toronto Maple Leafs’ season. All that’s owed to them now is an opportunity to stave off elimination in Sunday’s Game 6 against the Washington Capitals.
 
After Toronto took a 2-1 series lead on Monday, the Capitals responded with a pair of victories to put the Maple Leafs on the ropes. That hasn’t exactly been unfamiliar territory for Toronto, especially in the second half of this season. The last time the Leafs dropped three games in a row was during a five-game losing streak from Feb. 28 – March 3 when their playoff aspirations were becoming increasingly precarious. It’s was also in the face of that adversity when they started playing their best hockey of the season. 
 
Harnessing the same desperation they wore so well will determine whether the Maple Leafs’ playoff journey lives on another day.
 
“We’ll do anything to keep playing,” said Morgan Rielly after Sunday’s morning skate. "This is the most motivated this group has ever been. You want to do anything you can to keep playing. We earned the right to be here, we won our way into the playoffs; we deserve to be here.”
 
When Toronto returned home from a three-game road trip in early April, they’d won seven of their previous eight games and confidence was at an all-time high. All the Maple Leafs had to do was win their next game – incidentally, against the Capitals – and they could clinch the franchise’s second playoff berth in 12 years. They lost 4-1. Two nights later, a win over the Tampa Bay Lightning would have secured their position. They lost 4-1 again.
 
In the back of their minds, Toronto knew it had multiple opportunities to punch their ticket, and their lack of urgency on the ice reflected that. With time running out in a hurry to extend the season, the Leafs finally pushed back with a terrific performance against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a playoff-clinching win.
 
“I think maybe most groups would have [felt uncertain], but to be honest with you we never had any doubt,” Rielly said of the team’s mood before playing Pittsburgh. “When we went for dinner, there was a lot of confidence. No worries, no one was concerned we were going to have to head home soon. We knew we were going to get the job done one way or another and that’s the way we feel today.”
 
Playing at home hasn't been very positive for the Leafs so far in the postseason, with nerves being an obvious factor in both of the dreadful starts in Games 3 and 4 (Toronto allowed two goals in the first five minutes of each). On Sunday the Leafs have nothing to lose, giving them free reign to play the loose-but-structured style that’s served them so well this season, but ideally with more attention paid to the details.
 
Toronto was 7-for-25 on neutral zone draws in Game 5 - Nazem Kadri went 1-for-9 there, and Tyler Bozak went 1-for-4. Even something as seemingly inconsequential to most observers as that can have a major impact on the game overall, particularly in a series where every game has been decided by one goal.
 
“If you want to have 35 or 37 seconds shifts, 10 seconds of it is off that faceoff loss and you’re digging it out trying to get it back,” said Mike Babcock. “That's an area we need to bear down on. They’re either going to be on our D, or we’re going to be on their D. There’s not a whole lot in between. Both teams are trying to clog up the neutral zone so I think that’s a priority for us for sure.”
 
Kadri said it will take Toronto’s best game to send the series back to Washington for Game 7, a mission that would be aided greatly by a return to form for Mitch Marner. The rookie started hot in this series, pocketing the first goal 1:35 into Game 1, and adding three assists in the next three games. But Marner hasn’t been using his speed in the postseason to the same game-breaking level as he did in the regular season, which isn’t entirely unexpected given his first-year status.
 
On Saturday, Babcock issued a public vote of confidence in Marner, calling him a “big moment guy” and saying he expected a great game out of him Sunday. Admitting he’s been putting “a little bit” of pressure on himself to perform, Marner knows it’s preventing him from playing to his usual standard. 
 
“I just [have to] play the way I play,” he said. “Have more patience with the puck. [I’m] throwing away the puck and not making plays with it. I think I’m trying to rush things and thinking too much right now. The coaching staff has really put on me to still have fun with the puck, play your game, don’t change anything up. I think that’s what I have to get back to.”
 
Toronto has done more than hang with the Capitals in this series; they’ve stuck with them stride-for-stride. But there’s still an overwhelming sense after each game, win or lose, that the Maple Leafs have yet to play their most complete game. If it is in fact still within them, this is their moment to prove it.
 
“You want to play Game 7 in Washington, come on,” said Babcock. “You want to. So in order to do that, you’ve got to earn it. [Washington coach Barry Trotz] said they’ve got to push us off the cliff, we have to make sure they don’t. It’s that simple. 
 
“If you’re not loving this today, if you’re not enjoying it, you shouldn’t be in hockey.”