With season on the line, Leafs keep Matthews and Marner together

The Maple Leafs held a media availability at a hotel in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday morning. The Florida Panthers held an optional skate at FLA Arena in Sunrise, Fla. 

With the season hanging in the balance, the Leafs will stick with some familiar combinations. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner will stay together on the top line. Calle Jarnkrok, who hasn't scored since Game 1 of the first round, will join them. 

"Our team has been the best, our lines have been the best, when it's been Matthews, Marner and Jarnkrok," coach Sheldon Keefe explained. "It's the best line we've had all season both when I've used it in the regular season and the playoffs." 

John Tavares and William Nylander will stay together on the second line. Alex Kerfoot, who has one even-strength point in the playoffs, will join them. 

"A lot of times when Marner has gone down with Tavares that gives Tavares a boost, but that hasn't really been the case," Keefe said. "It's been Nylander that's been really giving that group a boost, so I don't see a lot of reason to change it there. Kerfoot with Tavares and Nylander, that's as good as that line has been."

Michael Bunting drops to the third line with Ryan O'Reilly and Noel Acciari. David Kampf and Sam Lafferty will make up the other line as the Leafs stick with a seven-defencemen alignment. 

During the playoffs, Keefe has often refused to tip his hand about his lineup on game days, but the coach spoke openly about his decisions on Wednesday. 

"You put your best group forward and let them play," the 42-year-old from Brampton, Ont. said. 

And yet Matthews and Marner weren't at their best on Sunday. Neither were Tavares and Nylander. Those four forwards have combined for just four assists in the series. 

"There's a combination of things," Keefe said of the Game 3 performance. "There's a number of shifts where we just couldn't get out of our end and some of the things had nothing to do with them. It's not them with the puck, it's others and plays not getting them on offence. Some of it is them not digging in and not winning battles and not getting to the net. Some of it is not getting a power play, so it's harder for top people to really get going."

Keefe is quick to point out his stars did everything but score in Game 2 when Sergei Bobrovsky put on a 35-save clinic. 

"In Game 2 those guys were dominant and had more chances in that one game than they had in the entire Tampa series combined, and then all the sudden in Game 3 it goes dry, and you don't get a big win at a key time and you're questioning everything," Keefe said. "Any time you lose everything gets magnified and for good reason. That's the way it goes. They're in the winning business."

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Keefe didn't have a big message for his team in the hours before they face elimination. 

"At this point you're messaged out or meeting-ed out because we've had so much time between games," Keefe said. "So, just reinforcing the things we've been talking about here, which is that we have to get one win and focus just on that. We want to build some positive momentum as a team."

The coach wasn't sure if the break between games would be helpful, but Morgan Rielly appreciated it. 

"Ultimately, it's been good to have two days in between games," the defenceman said. "It's not always my favourite thing. You want to keep playing, but this is a time where our guys have had a chance to reflect and do some thinking and find that motivation or find that belief, however that may be for different people."

How did Rielly find belief? 

"A number of different ways," the longest-serving Leaf said. "You know, teams of the past, players of the past, talking to family members, talking to people that have the belief in you, in the group. There's a million stories out there of teams that have come back and players that have beaten adversity, not just athletes, other people as well. So, whatever works for you it's important just to get your mind right before tonight and just get ready to go."

The Leafs won 50 games in the regular season and finished 19 points ahead of the eighth-seeded Panthers. And Toronto's players celebrated the franchise's first series win in 19 years less than two weeks ago. 

"Whenever you're in this position you're a bit surprised," Rielly acknowledged, "but if you look at the games, you look at what we've done, we're here for a reason and I think we understand what we need to do to claw our way out of it ... We're here. We're fighting. We're not going to go down easy."

The Leafs have played in eight postseason series since Matthews and Marner arrived on the scene, and this is the first time they've lost the first three games. They did lose three straight games in the 2021 North Division series against the underdog Montreal Canadiens. 

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Luke Schenn was a part of two Stanley Cup winning teams with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021. The 33-year-old defenceman was asked what the key is to winning elimination games. 

"You go over details and tweak things within the system or game plan or react to the way they're doing things," Schenn said. "In reality, in games like these, it's down to will and compete and winning those 50-50 battles and pucks and winning races and just playing with heart and, whoever wants it more, I think that's a huge part of it."

The Leafs have lost four of five games while the Panthers have won six straight. 

"They're feeling good, so we got to take it from them," said Jarnkrok. "They're not going give it to us for free."

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The Panthers have been telling anyone who will listen that they're loose and facing no pressure. The Leafs are looking to change that dynamic. 

"This is a type of game you want to play," insisted Jarnkrok. "You got to get out there, relax a bit, and have some fun with it."

Perhaps this situation will be liberating for a Leafs team that has faced sky-high expectations all season. Keefe is hoping that will be the case, but also admits the heat is very much on his team. 

"There's still pressure," he said. "You want to extend your season, you know, you want to keep playing so there's that and that is real. All that said, you're also at a point, for good reason given that you're down three, a lot of people if not everybody, certainly a lot of people, have written you off so there's a little bit of both."

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Leafs lines for Game 4 on Wednesday night: 

Jarnkrok - Matthews - Marner 
Kerfoot - Tavares - Nylander 
Bunting - O’Reilly - Acciari 
Kampf - Lafferty 

Rielly - Schenn 
Brodie - Holl
McCabe - Liljegren 
Giordano 

Woll starts 
Murray