The Maple Leafs held a practice at Ford Performance Centre on Monday.
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Sergei Bobrobvsky will be back between the pipes for the Leafs on Tuesday when the Utah Mammoth visit Scotiabank Arena. Bobrovsky last played on Wednesday in Seattle where he allowed a last-minute shot to squeak through him in a 5-4 loss.
“Oh, he’s good,” stressed coach Jim Hiller. “What a pro. I mean, can’t wait to get back in the net.”
It’s been a slow start with the Leafs for Bobrovsky who is 3-5-2 with an .885 save percentage. Back-up Anthony Stolarz, meanwhile, picked up another win on Saturday in Vancouver and is 5-1-0 with a .910 save percentage.
That’s led to plenty of discussion in the media and fan base about how the team should divide the playing time during a challenging six-game homestand, which starts Tuesday and also features dates with the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild and Edmonton Oilers. TSN analyst Martin Biron believes the Leafs should rotate between goalies for the next little bit.
Crease-related queries dominated Hiller’s media session on Monday.
“I can appreciate the questions, but we haven’t talked about it near as much as you guys,” the coach said. “I’ve talked about it more today than we’ve talked about it in two weeks with our coaches and management.”
The Leafs, who signed Bobrovsky to a three-year, $21-million deal in the summer, see no reason to deviate from their goalie schedule right now.
“We have a plan,” Hiller said. “We look at the schedule. It’s long. There’s rest. There are lots of different things that go into it. It’s something we talk about, and we make a decision based on what we’ve laid out, and we just move forward.”
Bobrovsky was not made available to the media after practice. The team pointed to the 38-year-old’s legendary off-ice routine as a reason why the goalie did not have time to take questions.
“He does everything possible to give himself the chance to be set up perfectly for the game and I’ve never seen anything like it,” Hiller said. “It’s so impressive to watch.”
A team spokesperson noted that Bobrovsky was the only player still in the gym two hours after practice ended.
“The thing with Bob is he comes in every single day and is one of the hardest workers here every single day,” observed centre Nick Paul. “Working out, on the ice, doing all the little extra things, so I’m not worried.”
Bobrovsky last spoke to the media following the game in Seattle. He said he wanted the last-minute goal by Brandon Montour back, but was generally pleased with his performance so far this season.
“I feel good,” Bobrovsky told reporters at Climate Pledge Arena. “You know, I feel strong ... There is a process. There is mistakes sometimes here and there but, overall, I feel confident.”
Stolarz played with Bobrovsky in Florida during the 2023-24 season and believes the two-time Stanley Cup and Vezina Trophy winner can lean on a “super strong” mental approach during rough patches.
“He’s one of the more battle-tested guys in this league,” Stolarz pointed out. “He’s played in three Stanley Cup Finals. He’s played in an Olympics. I’ve seen him at his best and he’s one helluva goalie. And just the way he works day in and day out, the proof’s in the pudding and you know he’ll get back on track here and be coming up big for us.”
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Stolarz, who is in the first year of a four-year extension signed prior to last season, is not lobbying Hiller for more starts.
“That’s up to him,” Stolarz said. “Each day is a new day for me and I’m just focusing on keeping my body healthy and just working on the consistency in my game and working on things with [goalie coach] Curtis [Sanford]. I try not to get caught up in that and just try to take it day by day and focus on myself.”
Stolarz is proud of how he bounced back after allowing five goals in Utah on Oct. 13, which was his only loss this season.
“Just been able to give the team that consistency,” he said. “You know, just come up with a big save when needed.”
Stolarz has had at least four days between each of his starts so far. Is that schedule helping him post such good numbers?
“I don’t know,” Hiller said. “It’s hard to know, isn’t it? It’s hard to know, but he’s played very well, there’s no question.”
Stolarz is coming off an injury-plagued season, which saw him miss two and a half months with a nerve-related issue. His season also ended prematurely on April 8 when he suffered a groin strain.
Stolarz is quick to highlight that his body is responding well so far this season.
“I put a lot of work in this summer,” the 32-year-old said. “A tough break last year, but kind of an eye-opener at the same time just in terms of, alright, you’re getting a little older and you just have to make sure you’re taking care of yourself and making sure that you’re doing the little things day in and day out that add up and allow you to stay healthy and allow you to stay on the ice.”
Stolarz has been putting in extra work with kinesiologist Sally Belanger, who is a consultant for the Leafs and the owner and founder of LINK Advanced Movement Mechanics.
“She’s our core specialist, so working a little bit more with her,” Stolarz said. “And just staying late, being able to do little things in the gym, focus on those little muscles. I got a great mentor in Bobby who’s always in there with me.”
Stolarz has never played more than 34 games in an NHL season while Bobrovsky is known for his durability and has played in at least 50 games in nine of the last 10 seasons with the only exception being the COVID-shortened year.
With Joseph Woll away on personal leave to start last year, Stolarz was on track to play more than ever before, but struggled under the weight of the workload. He called out teammates following an overtime loss just five games into the season.
Stolarz is now adopting the same mindset he had during the season he spent with Bobrovsky in Florida when the New Jersey native started 24 games and led the league with a .925 save percentage.
“I’m a pretty easy-going guy,” Stolarz said. “My mindset maybe at the beginning of last year was a little different and you kind of realize that didn’t work for me. So, I went back to my old self and I’ve done that to start this year.”
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Easton Cowan logged just 12 minutes and 58 seconds during Saturday’s game in Vancouver. It was his lowest ice-time total since the third game of the season on Oct. 3.
“Bad shift in the first,” the sophomore winger noted. “Third, you know, just couldn’t really find my legs again.”
Cowan was benched for a bit after that turnover-filled shift in the first. He also saw his ice time scaled by in Calgary earlier in the week after a turnover led to a goal against. Cowan took the blame for that defeat during his media session afterward.
What’s the key to bouncing back to tough stretches?
“Just have a good mindset, stay positive, and just find my legs again,” he said. “Once I’m moving my legs, you know, I get on the pucks and can make plays from there.”
It’s a long season and Cowan, who possesses a high-end motor, is still learning how to manage things when he doesn’t have his best stuff.
“I feel like that’s just an adjustment you gotta make,” he said. “You gotta know when you have it and know when you don’t. So, just learning that, learning puck management, keep trying to get better at that.”
The 21-year-old received a vote of confidence at practice on Monday as Hiller elevated him back to the top line with Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic.
“Well, he’s played so well,” Hiller explained. “I mean, listen, he made a couple mistakes. Now, everybody makes mistakes. A couple plays that we didn’t like in inopportune times so, you know, eventually, we got to make some decisions. But we’ve loved how he’s played. Loved how he’s progressed. And I’m not worried about him at all responding and we wanted to get that line back together because it’s been so good for us.”
Cowan started in that spot in five straight games before an injury to Kirill Marchenko led to a shake up in the forward lines in Seattle last week. Toronto went 4-1-0 with Cowan on the top line and he hit the scoresheet in each outing.
“It’s fun playing with them,” said Cowan, who had his six-game point streak snapped in Vancouver. “I feel like we’ve got some good chemistry going on.”
Cowan started the last two games on the second line with Paul and William Nylander.
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Dakota Joshua led the Leafs in shots (five) and hits (seven) during his season debut on Saturday. It was also his first game against the team that traded him to the Leafs.
“When they don’t want you, it’s always nice to go back in there and it was nice to beat them at home,” the winger said with a smile.
Joshua sustained a core injury late last season and didn’t get back on the ice until late in the summer. The 30-year-old then struggled to get up to speed at the start of camp.
“It was just a core injury in the abdominal area and it just, yeah, it took me a little longer to get right than I expected originally,” Joshua said.
He completed a four-game conditioning stint with the Marlies in the American Hockey League before rejoining the Leafs last week.
Joshua started Saturday’s game on the third line with Colton Sissons and Vinni Lettieri. At Monday’s practice, he found himself skating on the second line with Paul and Nylander.
“It’s nice to get a chance here early on and make something happen,” he said. “Willy’s as dynamic as they come so just being there for support for him and then getting a chance to attack when it presents itself, it should be a good time.”
“Down low, we’re two big bodies,” Paul noted. “So hopefully we can turn some pucks over and get it to Willy in space and have him do his thing. Big thing for us is just working, playing simple and getting Willy the puck in space.”
Joshua is in line for a big boost in ice time after logging 11 minutes in Vancouver.
“He played a strong game,” Hiller said. “It was the first game in a long time for him. We weren’t sure. We don’t want to give him too much, but talked to him, he said the wind was good, the legs were good, so we’ll see. Maybe he’s going to get a little bit more tomorrow night.”
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Gavin McKenna played with Joshua and Lettieri in the final 40 minutes in Vancouver.
“I thought 5-on-5 in the second period was one of my better periods of the year, and could have had a couple,” the rookie winger told reporters. “I think just keep building off this. It’s a lot of fun on the road and playing new teams, different styles, so getting used to that and just having fun out there.”
McKenna played on the first line with Matthews and Roslovic in Seattle and started in that spot in Vancouver, but never gained much traction.
“I actually thought that Sissons, Joshua, and McKenna were really effective,” Hiller told reporters after Saturday’s game. “It’s probably the most Gavin’s had the puck in the O-zone in a game, I would think, with the puck on his stick. He was dangerous, so I really liked the looks of that.”
McKenna landed two shots on net in 5-on-5 play on Saturday, which was his first multi-shot effort at even strength since Oct. 17.
McKenna skated on the third line with Sissons and Lettieri at Monday’s practice.
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Bo Groulx did not take part in practice and the forward was placed on waivers by the team in the afternoon.
John Tavares skated on Monday morning, but did not join the main group for practice. The veteran centre has been sidelined since suffering a lower-body injury on Oct. 15.
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Lines at Monday’s practice:
Cowan - Matthews - Roslovic
Joshua - Paul - Nylander
McKenna - Sissons - Lettieri
Duhaime - Blueger - MacEwen
McCabe - Raddysh
Rielly - Tanev
Ekman-Larsson - Stecher
Mermis
Bobrovsky
Stolarz