The Maple Leafs and New York Rangers (optional) skated at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.
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Leafs rookie Easton Cowan is holding up just fine despite taking some big hits early in his NHL career.
“He’s a smaller guy, but he’s not afraid to go in those dirty areas,” said linemate Auston Matthews. “Obviously, took a couple kind of cheap hits, the one going to the net, stuff like that, but he’s strong. I think he’s deceptively a lot stronger than he maybe looks at times.”
Ozzy Wiesblatt knocked Cowan into the Leafs net early in the third period on Tuesday night when the 6-foot, 190-pound winger didn’t have the puck. The Predators forward was called for interference on the play.
Later in the third period, Filip Forsberg hit Cowan hard just moments before the whistle went on a delayed Predators penalty.
Cowan cracked a small smile when informed that Matthews called the hits cheap.
“I think it’s just the game,” he said. “And just get back up and keep playing.”
Per NaturalStatTrick.com, Cowan has taken six hits in his first two NHL games, which is tied for most on the team with defenceman Chris Tanev.
“He’s handled it really well,” Matthews said. “I think he understands the nature of moving up and playing at this level. There’s obviously a lot of big guys out there, strong men, and you got to protect yourself and I think he does a good job of that.”
Cowan, who played in the Ontario Hockey League last season, added seven pounds of muscle in the summer to prepare for the physical challenge of professional hockey. The Leafs had a day off on Wednesday, but Cowan revealed that he went to the arena to do some stretching and take care of his body.
“I feel like I’ve been hitting a lot,” he said. “Just looking to keep that going, keep finishing my checks, playing hard hockey and simple hockey and I’ll be good.”
Cowan has landed five hits in two games, which is tied for the team lead.
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Tanev confronted Wiesblatt after the hit on Cowan. With a penalty pending on the Predators, not much came out of the scrum.
“We’ve got a power play on the one, so you can’t react to that,” coach Craig Berube said. “I think it’s important, you gotta stay disciplined. All scenarios are different when it comes to that. Our team, I’m not too worried about it. I think our team’s going to stand up for each other and get in there. I know they are. They did it last year, I expect them to do the same. But, at the same time, you know, it’s situational for me. We got a power play out of it. Power play’s job is to make them pay.”
The Leafs power play, however, did not convert and is now 0-for-8 on the season with one shorthanded goal allowed.
“Tough to get in a rhythm right now in games,” Matthews said. “I don’t think we’re doing enough 5-on-5 to give ourselves more power-play opportunities. The more opportunities you get obviously the more rhythm you get. So, I think that’s on us to kind of break out of that rut right now.”
Only the Vancouver Canucks (seven in three games) have had fewer power play opportunities so far this season.
How can the Leafs draw more calls?
“Hanging on to the pucks down low,” Matthews said. “I mean, it’s [offensive] zone time. If you have the puck more than they have to defend and the more opportunities there are to draw penalties.”
The Leafs finished tied for 20th in power-play opportunities last season (2.6 per game).
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Cowan is still getting used to the NHL lifestyle.
“The dinner is very good food, nice hotels, so just being grateful for each and every day,” said Cowan, who grew up on a farm in Mount Brydges, Ont. " But, yeah, it’s called the ‘Never Hungry League’ for a reason and I haven’t really been hungry that much. I’ve been eating a lot, lots of good food."
And some new food. On Tuesday, defenceman Brandon Carlo revealed that Cowan had never eaten tuna tartare before.
“It was okay,” Cowan said with a smile. “Not a big fish guy. It was okay, but I don’t think I’ll go back to it.”
This is a rite of passage for a lot of young players. Tanev noted that he had never eaten sushi before arriving in the NHL.
“Going to a nice steakhouse, never really went to those growing up as a kid,” Tanev added. “You sort of get thrown into a whole different life.”
Rangers forward Matt Rempe lived with veteran goalie Jonathan Quick last year.
“He was taking me out for dinner a lot and half the things he ordered I’d never even heard of before,” the 23-year-old from Calgary said. “I’m very mixed on bone marrow. I don’t know. I can go either way. It just kind of looks weird, but it tastes all right. But Quickie loves it, so we were always having it.”
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Cowan’s stomach took a turn when the bill arrived at the team dinner the other night.
“I was sitting with the younger guys on the team and the waiter came over and handed me a bill,” Cowan recalled. “I thought I was gonna have to pay for it, but it was just [Max Domi] and Auston playing a prank on me. It was definitely nice finding out you didn’t have to pay for that.”
How nervous was Cowan in that moment?
“Pretty nervous,” he said. “But Kniesy helped me out, looked at the bill, and made sure it was fake. So, yeah, definitely nervous for sure.”
Cowan declined to reveal the amount on the fake bill.
“Just little jokes like that are funny and go a long way,” Cowan said. “It’s just cool. They can joke around, and you gotta be able to take it.”
Cowan’s ability to roll with the punches is among the reasons why he’s been able to make a smooth transition into NHL life and the top of the Leafs lineup.
“He doesn’t really strike me as a guy that overthinks things or puts too much time and effort into things that maybe don’t really matter deep down,” Matthews said. “I think he’s just a guy that loves the game, likes to come to the rink, and just wants to play hockey and play it at the highest level that he can. I think that’s what he’s been doing and that’s why it makes him successful.”
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After a day off on Wednesday, William Nylander missed Thursday’s skate for “maintenance” but will play against the Rangers, per Berube.
After missing the last two games with an upper-body injury, winger Steven Lorentz is cleared to play, but will not draw back into the Leafs lineup on Thursday.
“The last two games have been really good,” Berube explained. “So, you know, just gonna keep the lineup the same, and that’s all it is.”
Lorentz, who signed a three-year extension in the summer, did not sit out any games as a healthy scratch last year.
“He’s an important player,” Berube said. “We all like him, we want him [in], but, you know, sometimes, these are the decisions coaches gotta make and they’re not easy for the guys that aren’t playing.”
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For the second time this season, the Leafs will be playing at the same time as a Blue Jays playoff game. During the Leafs season opener, fans inside Scotiabank Arena reacted with loud cheers when the video board showing the Jays leading the New York Yankees. There was even a ‘Let’s Go Blue Jays’ chant.
“It’s great,” said Matthews. “Especially liked when they would show the scoreboard and they were winning and the crowd would get a good kick out of that. Obviously we’re all rooting for them in their series and ... been really fun to follow them.”
As the Jays pulled ahead of the Yankees in Game 4 of the American League Division Series last Wednesday, the Leafs were piling up three goals in the third period to complete a comeback win over the Montreal Canadiens.
“It carries a little momentum for sure if they’re doing well and the crowd’s into it and loud,” said Tanev. “It’s been a good crowd so far this year, so hopefully that continues tonight.”
Tanev is a big Jays fan, but didn’t watch all of Wednesday’s game in Seattle, which started a little after 8 pm ET.
“I didn’t stay up long,” Tanev said. “I only watched three innings and then I was in the sheets.”
But the Toronto native went to bed knowing the Jays were in a really good spot.
“I figured, unless something catastrophic happened, they were going to continue on to a win,” Tanev said with a smile.
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Lines at Leafs skate:
Knies - Matthews - Cowan
Maccelli - Tavares - Lorentz*
McMann - Domi - Robertson
Joshua - Roy - Jarnkrok
Blais
Rielly - Carlo
McCabe - Tanev
Benoit - Ekman-Larsson
Myers
Stolarz starts
Primeau
*Nylander absent
Power-play units at Leafs skate:
QB: Rielly
Flanks: Matthews, Cowan*
Middle: Tavares
Net front: Knies
QB: Ekman-Larsson
Flanks: Domi, Maccelli
Middle: Robertson
Net front: McMann
*Nylander absent
