TORONTO – Not that long ago, the Maple Leafs were living the same postseason crunch the Florida Panthers currently find themselves in.
Heading into Tuesday night’s contest between the teams, Toronto is firmly entrenched in a playoff spot they’ve held since October, sitting a full 19 points ahead of their closest competition (Florida) in the Atlantic Division. But the Leafs are quick to recognize it was only 12 months ago that they were in the same dogfight the Panthers are in right now, jockeying in a crowded field for that last wild-card spot.
“We know just from having gone through what we’ve gone through the last couple of years how dangerous we felt we were when we weren’t in [a playoff spot] and we were battling to get in,” said Leafs coach Mike Babcock after the Tuesday morning skate. “We understand that, plus [the Panthers] have elite players. These are big games. They’re 7-3 in their last 10, playing well and chasing a playoff spot. It’s like every night; it’s going to be tough.”
With a few exceptions, most of the Leafs’ dressing room has never played in a campaign with so much postseason security. The veterans have taken an active role in keeping the younger players focused on the present, but it helps when that experience of clawing their way into contention is still relatively fresh.
“Right now we’re pretty locked in, not that it’s any guarantee,” said Frederik Andersen. “It doesn’t change anything in how we prepare. Every game is a must-win and that’s the approach you have to come in with. That’s the way we’re going to be better at the end [of the season], when we’re coming in with that attitude and then it doesn’t matter where we are in the standings.”
The Leafs don’t have to look far for an example of how taking a middling opponent lightly can hurt them. On Sunday, Toronto visited another division rival – the Detroit Red Wings – and needed late-game heroics in the form of an Auston Matthews go-ahead goal with 30.2 seconds left to come away with a victory.
Like the Panthers, the Red Wings are right in the thick of the wild-card chase; just like Detroit, Florida projects to be the hungrier team when they match up against Toronto.
A quick glance around the league shows how much the Leafs have benefited from being a high-end team in the relatively low-rent Atlantic this year. Both Eastern Conference wild-card spots are presently occupied by Metropolitan Division teams, and there are three other Metro clubs ahead of the Panthers (who are six points back, but have four games in hand on the Carolina Hurricanes and three on the New Jersey Devils) in the hunt.
By investing in the here-and-now, the Leafs can continue the fight to make up ground on the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning ahead of them, improving their odds of home-ice advantage in the playoffs.
“[Florida is] a divisional rival, so we want to play well. We're successful when we’re playing our game and that’s really all we have to worry about,” said Andersen. “It’s really all about what we do, and how we play our best. It’s not that we don’t focus on their team, we do a pre-scout and all that, but it’s really about executing on our end. So that’s our focus every day and it’s what we have to continue to do well.”
As for whether he’s keeping track of the standings, especially with Boston coming to town later this week, Andersen said “yes and no,” but he’s found tuning out the noise (positive or negative) is more beneficial than scoreboard watching.
“It’s a new day for everyone every day and we try to grow together. That’s what great teams can do,” said Andersen. “That’s the kind of culture we want to build here. Our coaching staff has a lot of expectations and that trickles down to us too. We want to be a team that’s in the conversation every year and that’s what we work towards every day.”
Babcock has been dividing his teams’ schedules into five-game segments for years, espousing the importance of getting six points in each chunk in to stay on track towards the postseason.
Toronto started 2018 with two lost segments in a row, garnering just eight points in 10 games, but they secured 16 in their next 10 to get back on track. Even that type of exercise was designed in part to keep players living in the moment, which has never been more paramount for the Leafs than with a postseason spot already fairly secure.
“You just do what you do and you keep grinding,” said Babcock. “But the idea [lies in] keeping your focus on the short term. All that talk of the schedule – the only schedule I know about is we play Florida here tonight and we have to find a way to win.”
Maple Leafs projected lineup vs. Florida
Hyman-Matthews-Nylander
Marleau-Kadri-Marner
van Riemsdyk-Bozak-Brown
Komarov-Moore-Kapanen
Rielly-Hainsey
Gardiner-Zaitsev
Dermott-Polak
Andersen starts
McElhinney