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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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TSN Toronto reporter Kristen Shilton checks in daily with news and notes on the Maple Leafs. The team held a 10:30 a.m. optional morning skate on Thursday at Scotiabank Arena.

 

 

Even before Aleksander Barkov scored three goals – including the overtime winner – in a 4-3 Florida Panthers’ win over the Maple Leafs last Saturday, the skilled centre had Toronto’s respect.

With a rematch between the teams on deck Thursday, he also has their full attention.

“We have to do something different, because he played very well last game and really dominated,” said Morgan Rielly after the Leafs’ optional morning skate on Thursday. “He’s a guy that plays a lot of minutes for those guys, plays hard minutes and takes d-zone draws and plays on the PK. It’s important that we key on him and make sure he doesn’t have the night he had last time.”

Barkov averages the most time on ice per game among all NHL forwards (23:09), a feat that hasn’t gone unnoticed in the Leafs’ room.

“It’s really impressive.” said Auston Matthews. “Some guys, they just have that motor and can do it all season long and it doesn’t affect them. I think he probably deserves a lot more [credit]. He’s one of the top players in the league. He’s tough to play against. He’s big and strong and he can obviously skate very well for his size.”

Mike Babcock called Barkov “a star” in Saturday’s first meeting, and pointed out that if he played in a bigger media market like Toronto he’d be the target of more praise.

“Obviously he’s not having this every day,” Babcock said, motioning to the dozen gathered reporters. “In saying that, I think he’s a really good player and really respected around the league. So I don’t think if you talk to the coaches or the players, anyone has him underrated.”

Tasked with having to slow Barkov down, Rielly is familiar with the sizable challenge ahead.

“He’s good, he’s smart, he’s a big player, long stick, great hands,” Rielly said. “We have to be aware when he’s out there. He’s dangerous on the power play. We’re not going to change anything too much [this time]; we just have to make sure we’re aware of the matchups and obviously don’t give him as much space as we did last time.”

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In the aftermath of Saturday’s 4-3 loss, the Leafs were clearly frustrated by their lack of energy and execution against the last-place team in their division.

After 40 minutes, Toronto was trailing 2-0, and it took a third-period comeback to even get one point.

If that display isn’t motivation enough for Toronto on Thursday, Babcock doesn’t know what is.

“We just played them. And they beat us. We didn’t touch the puck enough for two periods. They played harder than we did,” Babcock said. “Their specialty teams were better than ours. They got two [power play goals] and we got cob. So I’d say any one of those things [is incentive].”

Rather than just flush the result and move on, the Leafs are looking for a measure of revenge.

“We want to get them back,” Rielly stated. “They’re a team within our division. They played well last time we saw them. It’s nice to play them within a week or so because we know how they like to play. We’re looking forward for a chance to get a little redemption tonight.”

The Leafs felt their flat start on Saturday prevented them from establishing any until it was almost too late.

“It’s important we have a good start. We [weren’t] overly happy with our start last time and there are things we can change there,” said Rielly. “I think just in general our game against New Jersey [a 7-2 victory on Tuesday] had a lot of good things we should be able to carry over to the game tonight.”

Matthews agreed more urgency is needed and that said Saturday “definitely wasn’t our best game.” To get a better result, the Leafs can use the three-goal third period as a building block, like they did in Tuesday’s win.

“In the third period [Saturday] we played the way we wanted to; we have to start [like that] from the beginning tonight,” Mitchell Marner said. “Make sure we’re getting pucks in and not fooling around with it in the neutral zone, making sure we’re staying out of the box. They have a good power play, and when we do get on that kill, make sure we’re pressuring them and not giving them a lot of time.”

Toronto was 0-for-4 on the power play against Florida, and is 1-for-29 with the extra man in their last seven games. The penalty kill was in a skid as well, but went 3-for-3 in New Jersey on Tuesday. Getting the power play on a similarly positive track is crucial for Toronto.

“We were good early [on special teams]; haven’t been as good late,” surmised Babcock. “I think that’s an important step for is as well. There are a number of things we have to do [to improve], and just keep getting better.”

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Matthews didn’t know exactly what he and Marner were getting into when they agreed to be Cannon Dolls in the National Ballet of Canada’s performance of The Nutcracker on Wednesday, but they quickly found out of a 50-second long part can seem a lot longer when nerves take over.

“[It felt like] six hours. It felt like forever,” Matthews laughed on Thursday. “At one point we turned to the guy who was steering the cannon, who was great, and as we’re jumping around [we’re] asking him, ‘How much longer?’ because we were freaking out, not sure what else to do for the time being.”

The whole thing was a “cool experience” for the forwards, who didn’t even learn what their roles would be until right before the curtain opened. Fortunately they found it easy to decide who would be who.

“Someone needed to be scared and then the other person needed to be really excited,” Matthews explained. “I think part of it had to do with the scared person pretending they fainted and then jumping into the other person’s arms. Mitch said he couldn’t catch me, so that’s how we decided.”

“I wasn’t going to carry Matts off the stage,” Marner confirmed, who stands at 6-feet, 175 pounds to Matthews’ 6-foot-3, 220 pounds. “I was just acting scared the whole time.”

Acknowledging his history of shoulder injuries – he’s missed extended time the last two seasons with a right and left shoulder problem – Matthews joked he “used the good one” to lift Marner. But before the two even got on stage, they were taken by the vibrancy of their Cannon Doll attire, a collection of brightly coloured fabrics and wigs.

“Those outfits were pretty interesting, probably one of the most comfy outfits I’ve ever worn,” Matthews said.

“My pants were massive on me,” Marner added. “I could fit three people into it.”

Rielly was the only teammate who showed up to support Matthews and Marner, bringing his mother along for the night out.

“I got nervous for them, so I’m sure they were nervous but they were great and I think they had a lot of fun,” Rielly said. “Good for those guys for getting up there. I thought it was funny. I thought they did a great job.”

Even though Matthews joked he got so nervous taking the stage he contemplated why he’d agreed to do it in the first place, the 21-year-old would probably reprise the role again. But first, the company wants another of his teammates to participate.

“Next year they asked for John Tavares,” he said. “Maybe I’ll be in the crowd for that one, watching.”

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If the Leafs want to be the best team in the NHL this season, they’ll have to go through the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“Looks to me like Tampa is better than us,” Babcock said. “Looks like they’re better than everybody right now in the league. I’m not saying they’re deeper. I’m not saying they’re more talented. I’m not saying any of that, but their maturity level to play every night and find a way to win seems to be there.”

While players often claim they don’t monitor the NHL standings (where Tampa sits eight points ahead of Toronto), Babcock keeps pertinent information posted around the Leafs’ dressing room. Not that he really has to.

“The standings, the penalty kill, the power play; there’s stuff up every day,” he confirmed. “They see it all the time. I don’t think they have to see it in our room to see it, though. They have this thing called a phone they’re on 24/7. They have a pretty good handle on what’s going on.”

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Maple Leafs projected lines vs. Florida Panthers:

Hyman-Tavares-Marner
Johnsson-Matthews-Kapanen
Marleau-Kadri-Nylander
Ennis-Lindholm-Brown

Rielly-Hainsey
Gardiner-Zaitsev
Dermott-Ozhiganov

Andersen starts
Sparks