Columnist image

SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

| Archive

TSN Toronto reporter Mark Masters checks in daily with news and notes from Maple Leafs practices and game-day skates. The Leafs and Washington Capitals skated at the Air Canada Centre on Monday morning ahead of Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

- Nikita Zaitsev will return to the Leafs lineup on Monday, but will he be able to return to form in his NHL playoff debut? "We'll see tonight," the 25-year-old defenceman said. "Yeah, I don't know so we'll see." Zaitsev hasn't gone through a full practice since taking a heavy hit from Nick Foligno in Toronto's regular season finale on April 9. Will it be a challenge for him to get back up to top speed? "I don't think so," said Mike Babcock. "We're going to find out though. You and I will know at about the same time." The coach isn't easing the Russian rookie back in. Zaitsev was reunited with Jake Gardiner at the morning skate, which was his first on-ice session with teammates since sustaining the upper-body injury (suspected concussion). If Babcock pursues the same matchup he used in the final regular-season meeting between the teams on April 4 then Zaitsev should see a lot of Washington's top line. 

Zaitsev hopes to get an adrenaline boost from what will be an electric building as playoff hockey returns to Toronto for the first time in four years. "I'm still shocked," said Zaitsev when asked about the atmosphere in the city right now. "My wife sent me a picture of [Maple Leaf] Square on the first game. I was like, 'It's unbelievable.'" Zaitsev hopes his experience in the World Cup semi-final against Canada in September will give him a reference point for what to expect. 

The Capitals will look to make Zaitsev pay a price in his return to game action. "It doesn't matter who's going to play against him, we have to play physical and don't give him an easy night," said Alexander Ovechkin. "Every time, when you have a chance to hit him or cross-check him or whatever, it doesn't matter, Zaitsev, [Connor] Carrick or whoever, we have to play physical on those D." Washington is hoping Toronto's blueliners will wear down over the course of a series that they readily admit could be long. "They play well, obviously," said Ovechkin. "We respect them and I think they respect us and it's a battle. You never know, maybe it's going to be seven games." 

- If the Leafs are going to pull off the upset they will need continued strong play from Gardiner, who logged more than 40 minutes on Saturday picking up an assist in the process. He's the only Toronto defenceman who remains from the 2013 playoff run and believes he's matured a lot since then. "Ovechkin scores a power-play goal the other night, the crowd goes wild and you can barely hear yourself think," Gardiner said, "and the difference between now and then was [in 2013] I would've probably been a little more nervous, now it's just kind of natural." Morgan Rielly, Gardiner's close friend and one-time roommate, laughs when asked if his buddy plays better the less he thinks. "Yeah, that is true," he said. "He's a pretty calculated person. He thinks about everything he does, but oftentimes he can overthink things. But he's been playing outstanding. Whatever he's doing right now it's working."

 

- The Leafs are hoping to get an emotional boost from the home crowd. "You see the towels out there this morning and you kind of get, you know, pretty excited about that," Gardiner said. "Get the fans going again and I'm sure the city's ready for it and so are we." Ten Leafs players will be playing their first home playoff game on Monday and they have to learn how to harness the energy in a positive way. "Everybody on our team understands how big a deal it is here in Toronto," Babcock said. "We walk around the community and have a real good feel for that. We're just going to focus on doing what we do. We know how big the opportunity is. We've earned it and we're going to do what we can to play right and have the right amount of emotional control. We don't want to be too wired up either." Are the Capitals curious about the atmosphere they'll be walking into on Monday? "I imagine it's going to be the same as everywhere else in playoffs," said T.J. Oshie. "I played in some loud buildings. I'm sure the fans are excited to get playoff hockey back, but there's only so much people can scream."

- The Capitals top line, which features Nicklas Backstrom, Ovechkin and Oshie, believes it still has a lot more to give. "We just got to play better as a line," Backstrom noted. "For us, we have to put the pressure on them." Where, specifically, can they improve? "Everywhere," the Swede said. "I think we're not satisfied with anything with our game. We can be better. We want to be better." Ovechkin believes the trio is playing too patient. "We can be better in the offensive zone," the Capitals captain said. "We have pretty good chances, but we just got to use it. If we have a chance to shoot the puck, we have to shoot the puck." Game 3 has been Ovechkin's best playoff game through his career (17 points in 13 career Game 3s). 

- Karl Alzner did not take part in Washington's morning skate and will be a game-time decision. The defenceman has played in 599 straight games (playoffs and regular season combined) since April 28, 2010 (Game 7 v Habs). If Alzner can't play Nate Schmidt will draw in.

* Lines at Leafs morning skate:

Hyman-Matthews-Nylander
Komarov-Kadri-Brown
van Riemsdyk-Bozak-Marner
Martin-Boyle-Kapanen
Leivo, Fehr

Gardiner-Zaitsev
Hunwick-Rielly
Marincin-Carrick
Smith^-Marchenko

Andersen
McElhinney 

^ Forward Ben Smith practised as a defenceman to balance the numbers