Leafs 'not trying to overthink things' as they face 'must-win game'

The stakes are sky high for the Leafs on Sunday night. 

"It's must-win game for us," said forward Alex Kerfoot. "Our group has responded really well throughout the course of the year to situations like this and tonight's going to be no different."

"Well, obviously, got to be a lot of desperation for us," said captain John Tavares. 

The Leafs have had home-ice advantage in five series since Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner arrived in 2017 and this is the first time they've opened with consecutive losses in Toronto. But Sheldon Keefe feels his group can draw inspiration from how they handled the pressure in the last round against the Tampa Bay Lightning. 

"You don't want to be too dramatic about the whole thing," the coach said. "Just recent memory here is the last series. We didn't get down two, but you lose Game 1 at home and you have to have a major response and we get that. And then you lose Game 5 at home and you have to go get a major response. Those are the kind of things there that you've been through recently and found your way through. You win all three games on the road in the previous series. So, all those kind of things give our group confidence. Our group feels really good going into the game tonight. It doesn't make the challenge any easier, but we remain optimistic and confident. We just got to go out and perform."

The Leafs haven't lost three straight games since October. 

"This is just another bump in the road," stressed Keefe. "A little bit of adversity for our group to respond to. It's so important that we just focus on tonight's game. You win tonight's game, it changes a lot of things for us." 

What type of performance is the coach looking for? 

"A good one. A detailed one. A focused one," Keefe said. "One not unlike the other night in terms of how we started and how we played throughout the game. Just [more] focus and detail in our game in terms of minimizing our mistakes and converting on our chances. That's really the difference we're looking for but, in terms of the effort and the approach, not a lot different than what we had the other night."

"Not trying to overthink things," said Tavares. 

The Leafs have only once rallied to win a series after opening with two home losses. It previously happened in the 1942 Stanley Cup final against the Detroit Red Wings when Toronto dropped the first three games of the series. 

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Sergei Bobrovsky has been sharp so there is an emphasis on making life harder on the Panthers goalie with screens and traffic in front. 

"We've had chances," Kerfoot said. "I think there's still things we can do to create more but, I mean, there's other areas of the game we can tighten up as well." 

"A big thing for us is being really good coming out of our zone and us getting on the forecheck and forechecking really well," said Tavares. "[That's] something we take pride in and is a big part of our game and something we want to establish."

Dealing with Florida's ferocious forecheck is key. 

"Just getting by it," said defenceman T.J. Brodie. "You know, having the support to make the little bumps and plays we need to to get through it and try and get on the forecheck and force them to play D."

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Ilya Samsonov appeared agitated at times during Saturday's practice. The 26-year-old goalie smashed his stick on the post and later broke it with his skate. 

"He's responding just fine," Keefe assured. "I mean, the pressures and the different things he faced in the last series prepare him greatly for all these kind of things. I think he's grown a lot through last series to be able to be prepared for anything that comes his way here now."

Samsonov did not lose three straight games during the regular season. 

"He's pretty even keel," said Brodie. "He's never too up or too down and he always comes out with big games when we need him."

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The Leafs are hoping the two-day break between games will help cool off the Panthers, who have won a franchise playoff record five straight. 

"When you're winning games, rolling, and feeling good you want to get right back after it," said Kerfoot. "There could be an advantage to a team coming off two losses having an extra day, but doesn't mean anything if we don't go out and win tonight."

Panthers coach Paul Maurice pointed out his team needed a rest, because the five wins came over just nine days. 

"Our gas tank might have been half full after Game 2 and they had two days off before so maybe they were at three quarters of a tank," Maurice told reporters. "Both teams get to fill up the tank. They're even ... And these aren't necessarily related, but we had two days off in the Boston series and won the next three games."

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Rookie left winger Matthew Knies, who is living in Tavares' basement, sustained a concussion in Game 2 and will likely miss the rest of the series. 

"Matty's doing great," Tavares said. "I think he's been doing better every day, which is good to see ... Hate seeing him being out, but he's doing much, much better and continues to progress well." 

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The Panthers don't plan on making any lineup changes, Maurice confirmed.

Keefe refused to reveal the changes the Leafs will be making.