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SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

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The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning (optional) skated at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday. 

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John Tavares and William Nylander have not produced a point in five-on-five play during the playoffs and in Game 5 they will be split up again. Tavares will skate between Ilya Mikheyev and Alex Kerfoot, while Nylander slots in beside David Kampf and Pierre Engvall. 

"The focus for me is not necessarily having Nylander and Tavares apart as much as it is having Mikheyev-Kerfoot and Engvall-Kampf on two different lines," coach Sheldon Keefe said. 

Tavares and Nylander played on different lines in the first two games of the series in Toronto before being reunited for the two games in Tampa.

Tavares has just three shots in five-on-five play in the series. 

"He's doing a lot of little things that we're asking him to do," Keefe stressed.

"I'd like to generate more," Tavares said following Sunday's loss. "No doubt I expect more and want to be better ... I haven't been able to produce offensively, but it's obviously important for me to play good without the puck and not try to be overly aggressive because I'm just worried about offence."

Tavares and Nylander are both minus-3 in the series, which is tied for the worst mark on the team. 

"The reality is we've played four hockey games," Keefe said. "As much as it's the playoffs and you want everybody to be rolling and everybody to have over a point per game, it's not really the reality of how the league works."

Tavares does have two assists, including one in four-on-four play in Game 4. 

"He made an elite, elite, elite play to Willy on the goal they scored in the third period the other night," Keefe pointed out. "He's going to have lots of opportunities to make a difference. Each night it's somebody different. In Game 3, it's Kampf and it's [Colin] Blackwell and it's [Ilya] Lyubushkin making plays. John's time is going to come and that's good news for us. The fact we're competing at a high level against a very good team and both he and William have more to give, it's a good thing for us."

 

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Toronto's top line was held without an even-strength point during the two games in Tampa where they saw a steady dose of Anthony Cirelli, Brayden Point and Alex Killorn. 

"If you can have a good forecheck and make them play defence, it makes it extremely difficult for them," Killorn said. "We did a good job doing that in Tampa." 

With the series back north, Keefe will be able to keep Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews and Michael Bunting away from Tampa's shutdown trio. 

"That's a big factor," Keefe agreed. "At five-on-five it was tough for them on the road, but it was also tough for our whole team. Part of that is the matchups, but part of it is the fact we're just chasing the game a lot."

"Breaking the puck out is a key focal point for us," Matthews said. "Playing through the pressure of their forecheck and breaking out a little bit cleaner so we can have some more controlled entries and sustain a little more pressure on their end of the ice."

During the first two games in Toronto, the Leafs top line was matched mostly against Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat. Marner downplayed the difference.

"They got a lot of skill on both lines," Marner said. "Both can play D-zone. Both can obviously do a lot on the offensive side, so not a whole lot of difference. They're pretty similar." 

A bigger issue may be all the special teams play. 

"It's been a little weird," Marner said, "[hard] to get a feel for rhythm in some games."

"It can be tough," Matthews said. "It does disrupt the rhythm of the game and the flow." 

The Leafs have taken 32 penalties, which leads the playoffs. 

"We've done a pretty good job, for the most part, not getting involved in the stuff between the whistles," Tavares said. "But some of the obstruction is getting called tighter than probably we've been used to in the past, so it's something we have to adapt to." 

Tampa had eight power plays on Sunday. 

 

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There hasn't been a lead change in the series yet, which makes the start of the game all the more important.  

"We know what we can play like, so we just got to make sure we come out and do it and get our fans engaged early," Marner said. 

"I can't speak for Toronto," said Lightning coach Jon Cooper, "but I'll be shocked if we don't come out playing hard. It'd be nice to score first because then you've hopefully taken the crowd out of it a bit and you're making everybody nervous. You want to make people feel uncomfortable, play uncomfortable."

Keefe started his third defence pair of Mark Giordano and Justin Holl in Game 4. The duo got trapped on the ice with Holl committing a turnover that led to the Stamkos ice breaker just 60 seconds in. After the game, Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons asked Keefe why he started Holl in such a hostile environment while referring to him as the team's "worst defenceman." Keefe didn't care for how the question was asked and didn't provide an answer. 

 

On Tuesday, Keefe explained why he was sticking with Holl for Game 5. 

"He stabilized our penalty kill," the coach noted. "I watched the game back the other night and, to me, the Giordano-Holl pairing was as good a pairing as we had. I've watched the game back three times now and Hollsy's a driver of that a lot."

Per NaturalStatTrick.com, expected goals for Giordano and Holl in the two games they played together in this series is 75 per cent.

"Hollsy's been playing well," said Giordano. "The first shift last game we were sort of hemmed in a bit, but other than the first shift I thought we moved the puck well. He was making good reads defensively. He's obviously one of our best penalty killers. He's a confident guy and he's just got to keep building on his game and doing what he's doing." 

Holl leads the Leafs in blocks per 60 minutes (7.72).

"Unbelievable," said Marner of Holl's contribution. "He doesn't get the love he deserves ... He's huge on the penalty kill. When he gets out there, he's not afraid to step up and eat a block from a big-name guy. He made a lot of great plays last game. He's done great for us when he's in this lineup."

 

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After getting pulled in Game 4, Jack Campbell promised to bounce back. 

"I just look in the mirror," the 30-year-old goalie said on Sunday night. "I just learn from what I did wrong and be ready to do some great things next game."

Keefe checked in with Campbell on Monday after the team returned from Tampa. 

"Whether it was coming out of Game 2 or coming out of Game 4 here now, I think he's been in good spirits and handled it really well," Keefe said. "His response in Game 3 was outstanding so we're expecting more of the same."

The mindset?

"Just going to go out there and enjoy the crowd at home and stop some pucks," Campbell said. 

 

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The Leafs are looking to exorcise the demons associated with five straight opening-round defeats in the Matthews era. 

"We want to win this series just as much as they do," Killorn said. "We don't care how many times they haven't gotten through the first round or whatever. It's the same pressure for us, but the media definitely puts a different pressure on them. It's just the way it is. It's a huge market and then it gets talked about a lot. It's definitely an added pressure for them. There's no way around it."

Keefe is doing his best to help his players deal with the playoff plot twists. 

"The playoffs are up and down and it's a tough thing," said Keefe, who's coaching in his third playoff series in the NHL. "The emotion is all over the place. That's the nature of the game and that's why we love this time of year because you're experiencing so many different things. You're sort of riding that wave and, as the coach, it's your job to keep things focused and keep things dialled in. It's about keeping the team on task and focus on what we can control."

The Lightning got swept out of the playoffs after winning the Presidents' Trophy in 2019, so they understand what it takes to overcome the weight of unfulfilled expectations. 

"I've learned to take a breath instead of holding my breath," said Cooper. 

 

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Leafs lines at Tuesday's morning skate: 

Bunting - Matthews - Marner
Mikheyev - Tavares - Kerfoot
Nylander - Kampf - Engvall 
Spezza - Blackwell - Kase 
Clifford, Anderson, Simmonds, 

Rielly - Lyubushkin
Muzzin - Brodie
Giordano - Holl
Sandin - Liljegren 

Campbell starts
Kallgren 
Mrazek 

Leafs power play units at Tuesday's morning skate:

QB: Rielly
Flanks: Matthews, Marner 
Middle: Nylander 
Net front: Tavares 

QB: Giordano
Flanks: Mikheyev, Spezza 
Middle: Kase
Net front: Bunting 

Projected Game 5 lines for the Lightning: 

Palat - Stamkos - Kucherov
Killorn - Cirelli - Point
Hagel - Paul - Colton
Maroon - Bellemare - Perry

Hedman - Cernak
McDonagh - Bogosian
Sergachev - Foote

Vasilevskiy starts