Jan 16, 2019
Gardiner understands why fans reached ‘boiling point’
Maple Leafs defenceman focuses on getting back on track two days after being booed by some home fans in a loss to the Avalanche.
By Mark Masters
TSN Toronto reporter Mark Masters checks in daily with news and notes on the Maple Leafs. The team practised at MasterCard Centre on Wednesday before flying to Tampa.
Jake Gardiner doesn't like it, but he understands it.
“All of us in this room are so competitive and we expect so much out of each other and I think the fans are the exact same way,” the defenceman said two days after being booed by some home fans in a loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
“It's something you never want, but they expect us to win and expect us to play well and, as a team, I don’t think we were doing well and you hit a boiling point. And we do that the same way in the room. When we’re not playing well we start getting frustrated and I think that’s what happened.”
Gardiner, who played a season-low 18:07 on Monday night, is hardly the only Leaf struggling right now, yet he was the one who bore the brunt of the fan angst at Scotiabank Arena. That led teammate Mitch Marner to say that Gardiner, a veteran of eight seasons in Toronto, never gets the credit he deserves.
“I appreciate that,” said Gardiner before pausing a moment to collect his thoughts. "But, you got to play well to get credit so just need to perform ... It shows that they care and that's what we want. It's a very passionate fan base. Obviously, we're losing right now so it will be negative at times, but if we start winning it will turn around.”
So, what needs to change for the 28-year-old to get back on track?
“Had a good practice today,” he said. “Got skating a bit. Just get back to what we were doing well earlier this year and breaking the puck out well is obviously key – especially against a team like Tampa Bay.”
Mike Babcock kept his defence pairs intact at practice so Gardiner remains with Nikita Zaitsev, who has also had a couple tough moments in the last few games. The coach's message is simple.
“Just play,” Babcock said when asked about the Gardiner-Zaitsev duo. “Jake Gardiner's a real good player for us. I say this all the time, if you’re a skilled forward you need to be on the ice with guys like Morgan (Rielly) and Jake because you get the puck all the time. It didn’t go as good for him this last little bit. Shake it off and let’s get playing.”
Toronto has lost five of seven, with all those losses coming at home. Gardiner’s issues are similar to that of the rest of the team in many ways.
“We’re not doing the little things right,” Gardiner noted. “Breaking down defensively, turning pucks over, losing coverage in the D zone or making a lazy pass or just getting outworked. Just got to get back to it.”
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If Gardiner is in the crosshairs of the fan base then William Nylander isn't far off.
The right winger has just one goal and two assists in 17 games since returning from a contract stalemate. And he's not just struggling to produce offence; the 22-year-old has also been unreliable in his own end.
The latest example came on Colorado's game winner in the third period on Monday. With the puck behind the net, Nylander failed to keep tabs on Carl Soderberg.
“I got to get out on that guy and take that guy,” he said. “There's a small detail that needs to get better.”
Perhaps that's a byproduct of his long layoff this season? It must be tough to get all his instincts back?
“No, not really,” he said refusing to make an excuse. “That’s just the guy I got to have. My bad read.”
Perhaps a blast from the recent past will help snap Nylander out of this funk. At practice on Wednesday, Nylander was reunited with Auston Matthews and Zach Hyman. That trio played together most of the last two seasons with a lot of success.
“We were able to dominate other teams,” recalled Nylander, “keep the puck down low and play heavy in the O-zone and create a lot of offence five-on-five so I think we can build on what we had before.”
The other changes at practice saw Andreas Johnsson join John Tavares and Mitch Marner while Kasperi Kapanen shifted to the Nazem Kadri line with Patrick Marleau. Babcock wasn't sure he'd stick with the new look for Thursday's showdown against the Lightning.
“We’ve been hit and miss since Christmastime,” said Babcock. “We didn’t feel our work ethic was up to a level to be proud of last game as a group. What makes that happen and what makes the group go, you don’t always know, but if it’s just changing some lines around then we’ll do that.”
Lines at Wednesday's practice:
Johnsson-Tavares-Marner
Hyman-Matthews-Nylander
Marleau-Kadri-Kapanen
Lindholm-Gauthier-Brown
Rielly-Hainsey
Gardiner-Zaitsev
Dermott-Ozhiganov
Marincin-Holl
Andersen
Sparks