Columnist image

SPORTSCENTRE Reporter

| Archive

TSN Toronto reporter Mark Masters checks in daily with news and notes from Maple Leafs practices and game-day skates. Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock held a conference call with reporters on Tuesday. The Bruins held a media availability at their team hotel. 

Auston Matthews signalled his true arrival in the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs with a beautiful snipe and emphatic celebration late in the second period of Game 3 on Monday night. His goal, assisted by William Nylander, held up as the winner as the Toronto Maple Leafs got back in the series against the Boston Bruins. And, suddenly, it’s Boston getting some tough questions. 

"They got middle ice on that play,” said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. "That’s when they’re dangerous. Listen, they’ve done it to us in the regular season. They get middle ice there, they start hitting seams, high tips, coverage sort outs have to happen in a hurry, got to respect the guy with the puck because he can shoot so that’s where the breakdown occurred. We got to keep them to the outside. We’ve done a decent job with that against that line, clearly, I mean, I know (Matthews) got some shots, but I think most have been off the rush or some power plays off the angles.”

“You want to limit their chances,” said Bruins defenceman Charlie McAvoy, “but you got to realize they’re going to get chances. It’s really just about limiting them … they were going to break through at some point so, fine, we get that game out of the way and we refocus.”

While Toronto’s top stars delivered, Boston’s big line was held in check and actually outscored. Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak were on the ice for two goals against and Brad Marchand was on the ice for all three of Toronto’s even-strength tallies. The trio produced some glorious chances, but couldn't convert after combining for 20 points in the first two games. 

“Clearly, it’s going to give them motivation and it should,” Cassidy said of his top line during a media session at the team hotel. “When you keep them off the scoresheet, it will be talked about. We talked about it (regarding) Matthews. At the end of the day, I don’t think it will bother them one bit. In fact, they may bear down even more.”

With two full days off between games, both teams opted not to practice on Tuesday. Leafs head coach Mike Babcock believes the time away from the rink will be a lot more enjoyable for his young stars now that they’ve changed the narrative a bit.

“Ideally, our confidence will get back and we can play the way we've played all year,” Babcock told reporters on a conference call. “People would find it hard to believe, it's easy to lose your confidence very quickly at playoff time, but I think we're in a great spot to get it back. I really felt it helped Freddie [Andersen] last night. It helped Auston last night. A lot of our guys will be feeling better about themselves, which is positive.”

Toronto’s speed burns Bruins 

The version of the Maple Leafs who faced the Bruins Monday certainly looked more like the team that racked up 49 wins and 105 points during the regular season. The biggest difference? 

“We used our speed,” Mitch Marner said following Monday’s game. 

That quickness, combined with Babcock’s aggressive system, led to plenty of odd-man rushes. A Morgan Rielly stretch pass sprang Marner and Patrick Marleau for a two-on-one leading to Toronto’s second marker of the evening. Jake Gardiner also set up Kasperi Kapanen for a breakaway on a similar play in the first period, but the young Finn had the puck roll on him and couldn’t convert. 

“They play that style where they just want to counter so fast with their speed,” said McAvoy. “They want to use their speed at all times, so you really got to make sure you’re counting five guys all the time, keeping them in front of you, because they will go for those stretches, those breakaways, it’s almost kind of like you cheat the game kind of a little, but that’s their style and they do it very well.

“They have a lot of fast players you have to respect and you got to make sure you have a good gap on them, because guys like Marner, Kapanen, (Zach) Hyman they can all skate really well, some deceptive speed from those guys. You have to make sure you’re in front of them.”

McAvoy, who logged 26:21 of ice time to lead Boston in Game 3, notes that there are several teams in the NHL that play a similar style, but none have it ingrained into their DNA quite like the Leafs.  

"It's kind of textbook for these guys," the 20-year-old observed. “It’s their style. They’re very good at it. They get results when they do it. They all buy into that system. Their D, especially, all know the vicinity of where to throw a puck, whether to high chip or sometimes it’s a tape-to-tape pass, but they know to just get it up in a hurry, because they have guys going with speed and they have numbers ...Yeah, they’re good at it, they are, but as we keep going here we’re continuing to get familiar with it so we really need to bear down and limit those chances.”

In the first two games of the series, Boston’s forecheck seemed to neutralize Toronto’s transition game, but in Game 3 the Leafs finally got going. 

“That’s the trade-off,” said Cassidy. “We’ve gotten some good offensive zone play by being active and they’re trying to get going the other way. We’ve caught them; I don’t want to use the word ‘cheating,’ but leaning the other way.”

But on Monday it was the Bruins defencemen getting caught in between at times. 

"You try and play the same way every single time, same mentality, aggressive,"  said Torey Krug, who was minus-3 in Game 3. "If we have guys reloading, then it allows our defence to pinch and keep pucks alive. At times last night, specifically myself, you pinch and all the sudden you don’t have a guy reloading and then they’re off on a two-on-one and it’s in the back of our net so it definitely does, sometimes, make you second-guess yourself."

It’s a fine line.

“We have to balance O-zone play, risk-reward versus their stretch, blow-the-zone mentality and that’s what it comes down to,” Cassidy concluded. 

---

Rick Nash missed the final 12 games of the regular season due to a concussion and admits he’s still not quite entirely back at the top of his game.  

“I feel good on the ice,” the big Bruins winger said. “I feel strong. I feel powerful. I just feel like I’m missing that little step of speed that’s kind of coming each game.”

Nash, who has one goal and 11 shots in the series, was asked how hard it is to get up to speed in the playoffs. 

“The pace is that much higher,” the 33-year-old said. “The game is quicker. It’s tough, but my chances are there. I feel like my opportunities are coming.”

---

Boston stayed off the ice entirely on Tuesday. Cassidy joked that his players may hold a “snowball fight” on a chilly day in Toronto. 

The two-day break between games is allowing both teams to get healthier. 

Bruins defenceman Matt Grzelcyk (lower body) is expected to skate on Wednesday and could return for Game 4. Nick Holden took his spot on Monday night. 

Toronto also opted not to practice on Tuesday although Leo Komarov did skate alongside the suspended Nazem Kadri for about 35 minutes at the team’s practice facility. The gritty winger is working his way back from a lower-body injury sustained in Game 2. Babcock expects Komarov will be a game-time decision on Thursday. 

Andreas Johnsson is apparently showing no ill effects after an awkward collision with Marchand Monday night, which forced him to briefly leave the game. 

“I just actually was in there talking to him,” said Babcock. “He's fine. You know, we're obviously always real careful with the guys and I think that's real important. That's one of those situations that I don't think it was actually anything at all. You know, he's playing well for us so it's important that he's back and he's ready to go. I thought that line did a lot of good things for us last night.”