Leafs stress discipline as Marchand's arrival adds spice to Panthers rivalry
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The Maple Leafs practised at the Ford Performance Centre on Tuesday.
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The Leafs are stressing discipline ahead of Wednesday's showdown with the Florida Panthers.
"They're going to do their thing that they do," said coach Craig Berube. "They're going to try and disrupt you and try to draw you into a penalty. You can't react to it. You got to initiate and stand your ground, but you got to be careful with taking the extra shot or swing. It's hard but, at the same time, that's what they want and can't get drawn into that."
A retaliation penalty by defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson led to a Panthers power-play goal in a 3-2 win by the visitors in Toronto on March 13, which was the last meeting between the teams.
The task of keeping a cool head will be even more difficult on Wednesday with winger Brad Marchand now in Florida's lineup. The expert agitator is currently slotting in on Florida's second line beside fellow super pest Sam Bennett.
"It's a lot of physicality, a lot of little plays after the whistle," said winger Matthew Knies of the challenge. "They're going to try and get in your head, but I think we have a good group and we're not going to allow that."
Bennett has scored in four straight games against the Leafs. Marchand has two goals and three assists in four games against Toronto this season.
The stakes are high heading into Wednesday's showdown as the Leafs and Panthers are fighting for first place in the Atlantic Division.
"It's huge," said defenceman Brandon Carlo. "It's a great test. For me, I'm looking forward to it as a challenge. They're obviously a good team and somebody that we could see here in the near future [in the playoffs]. So just kind of basing it off of that and just going out, playing a good game, and proving to ourselves that we're right in there."
The Leafs have lost both games against the Panthers this season in regulation. The teams will wrap up their season series next Tuesday down in Florida.
"Obviously you see how tight the standings are and, with our rivalry, it's pretty important," Knies said. "I think it's going to be playoff game tomorrow."
The Leafs lead the Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning by three points in the race for top spot in the Atlantic Division. The Panthers (at Montreal Canadiens) and Lightning (at New York Islanders) are both playing on Tuesday.
Toronto has only won its division twice since the league expanded beyond six teams, and finishing first is a big goal.
"It's in the mindset," confirmed captain Auston Matthews. "The standings are really tight and you want to go up and get that for sure."
"That's obviously why you play," said goalie Anthony Stolarz. "You want to get that home-ice advantage, get that last change, so everyone in here knows the significance of the game tomorrow."
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Stolarz lost both games against the Panthers this season while allowing seven goals on 48 shots (.854 save percentage). Did that factor into Berube's thinking when it comes to the starter for Wednesday's game?
"No, not really," the coach said. "No, I mean, it is what it is. I mean, the team's 0-2."
Berube declined to reveal his starter, but all signs point to Stolarz getting the call on Wednesday. At Tuesday's practice, he left the ice well before Joseph Woll, who picked up the win on Sunday in Anaheim.
"Florida's a team that likes to go to the net, they like to try to get under your skin a little bit," Stolarz said.
At one point in the last meeting with the Panthers, Stolarz got into it with A.J. Greer following a play.
"As a goalie, it's part of the game," Stolarz said. "They're going to bump you. I'm a pretty big guy [6-foot-6, 243 pounds] so if I can I will stand up for myself. But I thought the guys did a really good job of just kind of clearing guys out."
Bennett took advantage of a late whistle in the previous game against the Leafs to poke at a puck Stolarz appeared to have covered. The ensuing scrum led to the Ekman-Larsson penalty.
"That's part of their tactics," said Stolarz. "They like to go to the net. They like to drive hard and they like to cash in on those rebound chances and the loose change around the net, so it will be up to me to control everything and just go out there and stop the puck."
With back-up goalie Vitek Vanecek starting for the Panthers in Montreal on Tuesday, it will be Sergei Bobrovsky in net against the Leafs on Wednesday.
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The Panthers have scored on four of their eight power-play chances against the Leafs this season.
After practice on Tuesday, associate coach Lane Lambert worked on penalty-kill positioning with Carlo, Jake McCabe and Simon Benoit.
"It's good to go through those things to have those little pointers to feed into tomorrow and try to take down a very high-end power play," said Carlo. "Just trying to manage that."
The Leafs power play, meanwhile, is just one for six against the Panthers this season and also allowed a shorthanded goal.
"They've been tight games every single time we've played them so it's just details," said Matthews. "The margins are small. Special teams are, obviously, really important with just how tight these games have been. It will be a good test and a good challenge."
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The last time the Leafs hosted the Panthers, they had just returned from a Western road trip through Las Vegas, Denver and Salt Lake City. It's a similar situation this time around.
After playing three games in four nights in California, Toronto travelled home from Los Angeles on Monday.
"You're just trying to get back into the rhythm of things with the time change and all of that," said Matthews. "Today was a nice short practice. Just kind of get out there, get the legs moving a bit, get a sweat, kind of use the rest of the day to get adjusted as best you can."
The main practice on Tuesday lasted just 14 minutes. It was one of the shortest sessions of the entire season.
"Just get them moving," Berube said of the purpose. "After flying back yesterday and the travel and back-to-back games ... we thought the best thing was to come out, get a quick skate, get moving around a little bit, get back to the rink here, and get ready for tomorrow."
The Leafs only have two games on the schedule this week with the Columbus Blue Jackets visiting Scotiabank Arena on Saturday.
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Alex Ovechkin is just five goals away from breaking the all-time goals record held by Wayne Gretzky (894).
"Fortunately, we don't have them any more this year," said Matthews with a smile. "He's usually good for at least one against us. It's going to be cool to see that unfold and how it all happens."
Ovechkin has scored 45 goals in 61 regular season games against the Leafs. He scored in his last game against Toronto on Dec. 28 when the teams wrapped up their season series.
Ovechkin picked up career goal No. 890 on Sunday.
"He's been one of my favourite players since I was growing up so just cool to see," said Matthews, who wore yellow laces for a bit as a kid because of Ovechkin.
Matthews, a native of Scottsdale, Ariz., was in the building when the Great 8 scored one of his greatest goals. Ovechkin somehow scored from his back in Phoenix during a game against the Coyotes on Jan. 16, 2006.
"Gretzky was the coach [of the Coyotes] and even he couldn't keep his eye off the Jumbotron," recalled Matthews, who was eight at the time. "But I think everybody was more in shock and awe then celebrating, honestly, because they couldn't fathom what just happened."
That was during Ovechkin's rookie season. It's still hard to believe what he's doing now. At age 39, Ovechkin has potted 37 goals in 57 games.
"It's pretty crazy to think about the consistency over the years and just him being able to stay healthy and all the stuff that goes into having the opportunity to put yourself in that position," said Matthews. "No doubt that it's going to happen here eventually and it will be pretty cool to witness."
The Capitals have nine games remaining, including Tuesday's tilt in Boston.
Matthews has scored 397 goals so far in his first nine seasons (621 games).
Ovechkin scored 422 in his first nine years in the NHL (679 games).
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Max Pacioretty practised with the Leafs on Tuesday for the first time since March 1. The veteran winger hasn't played since tweaking something in a practice coming out of the 4 Nations Faceoff break.
Jani Hakanpaa, who last played in November, also took part in practice. The defenceman is dealing with a nagging knee injury and has only suited up in two games this season.
"It's good that they're out there," said Berube. "They've been working with our development crew and people back here and skating and trying to get healthy. Hopefully they can get healthy and be part of the team at some point."
During the California trip, Berube told reporters he was confident that Pacioretty would be available for the playoffs.
Pacioretty and Hakanpaa are both on long term injured reserve. The Leafs don't have the salary cap space available to activate either player.
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Lines at Tuesday's practice:
Knies - Matthews - Marner
McMann - Tavares - Nylander
Laughton - Domi - Jarnkrok
Holmberg - Kampf - Lorentz
Robertson, Pacioretty
McCabe - Tanev
Rielly - Carlo
Benoit - Ekman-Larsson
Myers, Hakanpää
Stolarz
Woll