'Definitely annoying': Leafs stress discipline in dealing with Sens pest Greig

The Maple Leafs practised at Ford Performance Centre on Monday. 

Senators winger Ridly Greig was initially assessed a major penalty for a cross-check on Leafs centre John Tavares in the second period of Game 1 on Sunday night, but the referees reduced it to a minor after a video review. Matthew Knies was a little surprised.  

"He got him pretty good in the head," the Leafs winger said. "You gotta trust they made the right decision but, yeah, I think I saw it a little bit differently."

Leafs coach Craig Berube told reporters to "call the league" as he left the podium on Sunday night. The league ultimately decided not to levy any supplemental discipline. 

"I didn't think they would," Berube acknowledged on Monday.  

Greig, who scored in the third period, is always looking to get under the skin of the opposition. 

The 22-year-old fell and slid into Leafs goalie Anthony Stolarz while driving the net in the third period. Berube made it clear after the game he didn't think it was an accident. 

"It’s definitely annoying," said Knies. "I think we’re going to play hard on him and not make it easy for him the rest of the way."

But Berube is warning his players that they can't go too far when responding. The Senators led the league in drawn penalties in the regular season with Greig ranking fourth on their team. 

"That's part of playoff hockey," said Berube. "I mean, that stuff's going to happen, and you've got to be disciplined as best you can, and we're going to keep preaching it. The league, the referees, they'll take care of that stuff. That's their job."

Berube is seventh all time in penalty minutes and understands it's not always easy to keep your cool.

"Well, I didn't do a very good job of it a lot of times," he said to laughs. "It can be difficult for sure. I mean, it's human nature. But we did a good job of it last night for the most part."

Greig played a prominent role in the Battle of Ontario last season. He took a slap shot into Toronto's empty net to seal a Senators win in the final regular season game between the teams. Defenceman Morgan Rielly retaliated with a high cross-check, which led to a five-game suspension. 

So, what's the key to dealing with Greig moving forward in this series? 

"There's nothing to it," Rielly said. "I think our group just has to keep our focus on playing our brand of hockey."

"There’s always guys on both teams that like to play that role," said Leafs captain Auston Matthews. "It’s just making sure that we’re sticking up for each other, making sure we’ve got each other’s backs, and when stuff like that happens, that we’re picking up each other when we have to."

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Greig's cross-check on Tavares was a clear penalty, but Travis Green didn't think his team deserved to be shorthanded six times in the game. 

"I thought there was a couple calls that they did a good job selling," the Senators coach said. 

Did the Leafs feel like they did anything well to draw six power plays?

"I thought we were hanging onto pucks," Matthews said. "They’re making calls based on what they feel are penalties. We’re just going out there, we’re playing hockey. We’re trying to be strong."

Matthews smiled. 

"To answer your question, I guess, no, I don’t think we were doing anything special to draw penalties," he said.

With Greig in the box, Adam Gaudette was whistled for cross-checking Matthews, which put the Leafs on a lengthy 5-on-3. 

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William Nylander scored immediately off the faceoff on the 5-on-3. The Leafs scored two other power-play goals. All the man-advantage markers came within 10 seconds of a faceoff. 

"We're looking to attack right away, and that's a good mentality," said Berube. "[In] playoffs, pucks to the net, pucks to the net, that's what you've got to think about."

"We want to catch them off guard," said Knies, "catch them out of position, and try to get it towards the net as early as possible."

As the quarterback on the top unit, winger Mitch Marner is charged with delivering a lot of those pucks to the net. Toronto's five-forward alignment took off this season because Marner made a smooth transition from the flank to the top of the zone. 

"He’s so good with the puck," said Matthews. "He sees the ice really well. I think he does a good job of being a dual threat as well. He shoots pucks. He gets pucks through, so JT, Knies, these guys can tip it or get rebounds and stuff like that, and they can collapse down on it. And he’s a great passer, so he can find seams and find lanes for guys to get shots off of too. It’s not an easy job out there, but he makes it look pretty easy."

Marner assisted on both of Toronto's 5-on-4 goals on Sunday, including the one scored by Knies in the third period. 

"He definitely looks for sticks, especially with Johnny too," said Knies, who plays the net-front role. "He’s looking for sticks, making it easy to be tipped, and just create loose pucks around [the net]. I think he’s done a really good job of that and I think he knows when to hold onto it and when to manipulate their forwards and get a good shot off."

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Stolarz did not take part in Monday's practice. Berube labelled it a rest day.

"It's something we talk to the goalies about and what they feel they need and what they want to do," the coach said. 

There's no doubt that Stolarz earned a day off the ice. He stopped 31 of 33 shots to win his first Stanley Cup playoff start on Sunday. 

"The atmosphere was great," the 31-year-old said. "Had goosebumps when you stepped onto the ice and the crowd goes nuts."

Any nerves? 

"You step onto the ice and you obviously have those eager, anxious jitters just to get going," Stolarz said. "But once I stepped out there, it was all about having some fun and going to work and going to battle with the 19 other guys that were out there."

Stolarz overcame some adversity late in the first period when he failed to corral a rebound in front, which allowed Drake Batherson to score and bring the Senators within a goal. 

"It’s just one of those things," he said with a shrug. "It kind of hops over your stick, right? That’s part of being a goalie. It’s short-term memory, and you gotta worry about that next shot. Guys did a really good job for me, keeping them to the outside, and when my number was called to make a big save, I just tried my best to do that."

Stolarz denied a Brady Tkachuk breakaway early in the second period before stopping a point-blank look by Shane Pinto. He somehow got the knob of his stick on a Fabian Zetterlund shot when the Leafs were shorthanded. 

"He did incredible," said Knies. "He did absolutely incredible. Some of the saves, especially on the kill, it was outstanding by him."

Stolarz downplayed the Greig slide into the net even though he looked to be in some discomfort afterwards. 

"I’m fine," he assured reporters. "He just kind of came in and caught me in a little awkward spot. I think my knee hit the post there but, yeah, it was something that just happened. He blew a tire. It is what it is and I felt fine and was able to finish the game."

Stolarz has now won nine straight games dating back to the regular season. 

Linus Ullmark, meanwhile, allowed six goals on 24 shots in his first playoff appearance with the Senators. 

Green defended the 2023 Vezina Trophy winner when asked if goaltending was the "elephant in the room" for the Senators. 

"I like our goaltending," the coach responded. "I like our goalie a lot.  Good goalie. He's won a Vezina. Pretty good. There's no elephant in our room."

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The line of Tavares between Max Domi and Nylander was getting outshot 6-1 by the Senators, per NaturalStatTrick.com, so Berube made a change in the second period. Pontus Holmberg replaced Domi on the second line and remained in that spot at practice. 

"Just an adjustment during the game with match-ups more than anything," said Berube. "That's all it was."

The Tavares line was being matched against the Pinto line. 

Holmberg scored just twice in 5-on-5 in the regular season, but was lauded by Berube and teammates for his responsible style of play. 

"He's big and strong," said Rielly. "He's able to hold onto the puck down low and make plays. He's a smart player, and so we're very lucky to have him. I think he's grown a lot and it's hard to knock off when he has the puck and it's extremely valuable."

Domi, who led all Leafs in giveaways per 60 minutes in the regular season, is now skating as the third-line centre between Bobby McMann and Nick Robertson. 

"Max is good about playing wherever, wing, centre," said Berube. "He's done both all season, and it's an easy switch for him, you know. I mean, it's not that much of a conversation, to be honest with you. He's good with whatever we need."

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Toronto's youngest player led the team in ice time in Game 1 as Knies logged 22 minutes and 29 seconds. 

"It means a lot," the 22-year-old said. "I want to be able to play in every situation, to dominate out there, and be a physical component to our team. I think I did a good job of that and I just want to keep it going."

Knies, who plays on both special teams units, averaged 18 minutes and 31 seconds of ice time in the regular season. 

"The minutes are a little high for him last night," Berube said. "I probably got to do a better job of, you know, pulling that back a bit. I used him at the end of the game a little bit more then probably I wanted to."

Knies was in pain after blocking a Thomas Chabot shot in the third period, but didn't miss any time. 

"That’s kind of what you have to do at this time of year, pay the price," he said. 

Knies scored moments later on the power play. 

"Felt rewarding for sure," he said

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Despite Sunday's 6-2 win, the Leafs see lots of areas in need of improvement in Game 2.

"We have to protect the slot better than we did," Berube said. "In the second period, they had a few opportunities after the power plays where we were a little loose. We have to do a better job there. Power plays and penalty kills take some of the rhythm out of the game, but I’d like to see us do a little more hunting and hounding on the forecheck."

The Senators outshot the Leafs 33-24 in the opener.

"Forechecking maybe wasn’t as consistent as we wanted last night," said Matthews, "but with the amount of penalties that were taken, it kind of takes a little bit of a flow out of the game."

What is the defence focused on?

"We talked about breaking the puck out a little bit smoother," Rielly revealed. "I think when you have to put the puck in the air or off the glass that's fine, but I think as a group we can execute a little bit better, a little bit cleaner."

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Lines at Leafs practice on Monday: 

Knies - Matthews - Marner
Holmberg - Tavares - Nylander
McMann - Domi - Robertson
Lorentz - Laughton - Jarnkrok
Kampf, Pacioretty

McCabe - Tanev
Rielly - Carlo
Benoit - Ekman-Larsson
Mermis - Myers
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