Apr 17, 2017
Maple Leafs need biggest weapons to start firing
Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Nazem Kadri have yet to record a point in first-round series against the Capitals.
TORONTO – If positive momentum in this playoff series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals was up for grabs over the first two games, the Leafs seized it with authority in a wild double-overtime victory in Game 2.
But momentum is a curious thing in postseason hockey. It’s able to be won and lost in short order.
As the Leafs prepare to play their first postseason game on home ice in four years Monday night, they know that resting on their laurels after stealing a victory in enemy territory would be a mistake.
“It’s easy to look at it and say we were better last game,” Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. “…Two teams have an opportunity to respond and often it’s the team that didn’t like the way it went for them that’s digging in the hardest. It’s very important we elevate and get to another level and up the ante here tonight. Last game doesn’t matter anymore.”
Toronto managed to even the series while playing with a diminished defence corps that still survived the Capitals’ offensive assault for nearly three periods, helped in large part by a terrific 47-save performance from Frederik Andersen.
They won’t be as outmatched in that area on Monday, with Nikita Zaitsev returning to the lineup after missing the first two games of the series with an upper-body injury. Shoring up the backend is a huge boost for Toronto; now they need their biggest weapons up front to start firing.
Their fourth line sealed the win on Saturday, with six points tallied between Matt Martin, Brian Boyle and Kasperi Kapanen, while Tyler Bozak’s line with James van Riemsdyk and Mitch Marner has six between them. Three of the team’s regular-season leading scorers (Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Nazem Kadri) have yet to register a point.
Washington’s top players had a quiet Game 1, but came alive two nights later, with Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin both scoring their first goals of the series. To see those players pick up steam without the Maple Leafs’ best forwards following suit could spell trouble.
“I thought [Matthews] and [Zach] Hyman and Nylander were real good last game. I thought Matty had some good looks,” Babcock said. “What I’ve found coaching good teams, sometimes you look at your stars and they have no points. Then they get seven in the next round and 14 in the next round and you forget all about the first round. That’s what depth is all about, people picking one another up.”
“As a line we created a lot more offence,” Matthews said of Game 2. “It’s the playoffs. Everything is kind of an investment. Not everything is about goals or assists. It’s finishing checks, blocking shots, all the little things that go on that are kind if unnoticed behind the scenes that help your team win.”
Case in point: Matthews stepped into the lane in Game 2 to make a critical shot block that left him momentarily hobbled. Toronto has succeeded all season with a whatever-it-takes attitude that extends from the oldest veteran to the youngest rookie.
Washington coach Barry Trotz mentioned in a conference call Sunday he saw a potential for the Maple Leafs to be “worn down” after Saturday’s extended action and two players (Jake Gardiner, Morgan Rielly) exceeding 40 minutes of ice time, but Toronto doesn’t see that as a one-way street.
“Every time they’re going back for the puck, they’re going to get hit and it’s not going to be easy for them,” said Martin of Toronto’s physicality. “As the series wears on, that investment – every hit, every time you chase the defence down - makes it harder and harder on them. [The fourth line especially] becomes that much more effective because we start to wear on them more and more.”
Another key for Toronto on Monday is discipline. After the Capitals scored two of their three goals on the power play Saturday, the Maple Leafs must practice what they continually preach and stay out of box. Their penalty kill was above average for much of the season, but has faltered more frequently the last few weeks, giving up seven goals on 17 opportunities over the last seven games.
“They’re a really skilled team, best in the league. But our team wants to prove we’re here to play,” Marner said. “We’re not here by luck or anything like that. That’s how we need to play – like we deserve to be here. We deserve to be in the same building as them.”