Pacioretty confident that he can contribute to Leafs despite long layoff
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The Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators skated at Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday.
Max Pacioretty will draw back into the lineup on Thursday as the Leafs look to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their first-round series against the Ottawa Senators.
"I'm just really excited," the 36-year-old winger said. "I waited a little bit here for this, and I've put in a lot of work and had a lot of great people in my corner help me out."
Pacioretty slotted in on a line with Max Domi and Bobby McMann at the team's morning skate. He also took reps as the net-front presence on the second power-play unit.
Nick Robertson, who took a costly penalty in Game 2, will be a healthy scratch.
It's been a long and frustrating road back for Pacioretty, who sustained an undisclosed injury while working on the ice before a practice on Feb. 19. He last suited up in a game on Feb. 8.
Pacioretty has been practising with the team since April 1, but the Leafs didn't have enough cap space to activate him off long term injured reserve before the end of the regular season.
How did he manage his emotions while awaiting his next chance to play?
"I'd rather not talk about that," Pacioretty said after a pause.
"He's handled it fairly well," Leafs coach Craig Berube said. "Things happen. You know, you can't control a lot of things that happen. He wanted to be in there and playing, but he's got the opportunity now. He's worked hard, kept a good attitude for the most part. It's not easy, especially for a guy, you know, he's been around a long time, veteran guy. It's always harder for those guys."
Pacioretty is still chasing his first Stanley Cup and signed with the Leafs, after attending training camp on a professional tryout, in part because he believed it gave him a good chance to contribute to championship run.
"This is why I'm here," he said. "Now I gotta pitch in and help the team win."
Pacioretty has 25 goals and 25 assists in 78 previous playoff games with the Montreal Canadiens, Vegas Golden Knights and Washington Capitals. That experience should help, but it won't be easy jumping back into game action at the most intense time of the season.
"I feel confident," the Connecticut native insisted. "I'm ready to go. I've put in a lot of hard work."
Coaches usually prefer not to change a winning lineup, but Berube explained that he wanted to add a veteran presence considering how electric the atmosphere is expected to be on Thursday night as playoff hockey returns to Ottawa for the first time since 2017.
"It'll be loud," said Pacioretty, who faced the Senators in the playoffs twice previously when he captained the Canadiens. "We can't get too up or too down because it'll be loud. It'll be a really good building, and we can't let them take over. No matter what happens in the game, we got to keep our composure."
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The Leafs benefitted from a boisterous home crowd during the first two games of the series at Scotiabank Arena.
"You could tell there was a lot of juice in their game to start," said Senators coach Travis Green.
Toronto jumped out to early 2-0 leads in both games.
Traditionally, plenty of Leafs fans invade the Canadian Tire Centre for these games. The Senators are hoping there will be a lot less blue on Thursday night.
"I would hope so," centre Tim Stutzle said with a smile.
"I expect it to be as loud of a rink as I’ve ever heard," said Senators captain Brady Tkachuk. "I know it’s been a long time coming for Sens fans ... this is a moment when we’re really going to need them."
The Leafs are still expecting a lot of their fans to be in the building.
"I know our fans are dedicated," said defenceman Simon Benoit. "I'm sure they'll be there."
"It just gives you a little more juice," said winger Matthew Knies. "It’s a crazy fan base we have. It’s unlike any other. It will be fun. It will be motivating and I think it’s going to help us for sure."
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Regardless of what the crowd looks like, the Senators expect to benefit from having the last-change advantage at home. Ottawa likes to match the Shane Pinto line, with wingers Michael Amadio and Ridly Greig, against top lines.
Pinto, who finished the season plus-10, has responded well to the tough assignments.
"He’s been doing it all year and he’s good at it," said Green. "He’s learning still, though. Another example of a player that is still finding his way a little bit. He’s scratching the surface of what he’s going to be long-term. He’s getting better in his role, but he’s also getting better as a player in the NHL."
Pinto led the Senators with 15 goals in 42 games after the calendar flipped to 2025. Pinto scored the game-winning goal when the Leafs visited the Senators back in January.
What will it take to get the better of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Knies on Thursday?
"It’s tough," the 24-year-old said. "Those guys are world-class players so it’s hard to keep them down. But just try and stay on top of them, chipping them all along the ice, and playing in the O-zone. If they gotta play defence that will waste their energy."
"That line plays with a lot of pace," said Matthews, who has fired nine shots on net to lead the Leafs in the series. "They play very north south. I think it’s important just be good in the faceoff circle, make sure that we’re battling on those 50-50 battles."
Matthews produced just one even-strength assist during the first two games in Toronto where he matched up mostly against the Stutzle line.
"Tough matchup with the Stutzle line," Berube said. "It's a good line. I think they're doing a good job defensively, and checking and doing a lot of good things. You just got to keep going. You just got to keep working. I mean, goals will go in, but, if you want to score goals in the playoffs, it's about getting to the net, more than anything. I mean, you're going to get opportunities for sure at times on broken plays and things like that, but get to the net. That's where the goals go in most of the time in the playoffs, the greasy goals around the net. But, overall, I'm pleased with that line, the job they're doing."
Berube broke into a smile.
"I'm not too worried about Matthews," he said.
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Matthews has two assists on the power play where the Leafs have been dominant. Toronto has scored on four of seven chances so far in the series. All the goals have come off quick-strike chances following a faceoff win.
"They’re keeping it simple," said defenceman Jake Sanderson, who has been on the ice for all four of the goals. "They’re funneling pucks to the net quick and kind of caught us off guard. We’ll be better in that area."
What are the Leafs liking on the power play so far?
"Getting different looks," Matthews said. "Not just scoring in one way, being able to facilitate the puck around and score in different ways."
John Tavares has two power-play goals while William Nylander (5-on-3) and Knies have one each.
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Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly has scored in both games so far in this series.
"He's a dynamic player," said defenceman Chris Tanev. "He's made some great plays and we count on him to do that ... I only see him getting better as we move on here. Game by game, period by period, he keeps elevating his game which is amazing for us."
Sanderson is leading the series in ice time (27:10 per game) but has yet to hit the scoresheet. He had 57 points in the regular season, which is 16 more than Rielly, who led all Leafs defencemen.
"Not bad," the 22-year-old Sanderson said of his play so far. "Cool atmosphere. Fast game. Intense. That’s how you like to play it so I think I got more to give."
Where can he be better?
"Everywhere," he said.
There is one area where all the Senators defencemen can improve.
"As a D core we can do a better job of getting our head up and shooting around them," Sanderson said.
The Leafs have blocked 40 of the Senators’ 100 attempts from outside the slot, per Sportlogiq. Toronto leads the Stanley Cup playoffs in blocked shots per 60 minutes (24.36).
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After the Leafs scored a goal in Game 1, Berube was spotted on the bench telling assistant coach Marc Savard to rein in his celebration.
"Well, we ask the players to be composed, and we talk about it all the time, so that goes for us, too," the coach said with a laugh. "Sometimes it's difficult."
Knies got a laugh out of the viral video. Toronto's youngest player insists Berube hasn't had to remind the players about the need to stay composed too often.
"I don’t think he really has to," Knies said. "There’s a lot of experience in this room. I don’t think he needs to say anything."
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Lines at Leafs skate on Thursday:
Knies - Matthews - Marner
Holmberg - Tavares - Nylander
Jarnkrok - Laughton - Lorentz
Pacioretty - Domi - McMann
Robertson, Kampf
McCabe - Tanev
Rielly - Carlo
Benoit - Ekman-Larsson
Mermis - Myers
Stolarz starts
Woll
Lines at Senators skate on Thursday:
Tkachuk - Stutzle - Giroux
Zetterlund - Cozens - Batherson
*Highmore - Pinto - Amadio
Perron - Gaudette - Cousins
Sanderson-Zub
Chabot - Hamonic *
Kleven - Matinpalo
Ullmark starts
Forsberg
*Greig and Jensen absent, but expected to play