Tavares embraces chance to be O’Reilly’s wingman

The last time John Tavares lined up consistently on the wing was at the 2016 World Cup when he played on a line with Ryan Getzlaf and Steven Stamkos. Before that? 

"Actually, my longest period playing the wing was when I played in the lockout in Bern," Tavares said of his swing through the Swiss League during the 2012-13 season. "They put me on the wing basically my whole time there, which was pretty close to 30 games. That's about a decade ago now, but I've had some stretches."  

Tavares has seen shifts on the wing with the Leafs. Sometimes coach Sheldon Keefe will load up a top line with Tavares on the left side of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. That trio started together in Game 5 of the 2020 bubble series against Columbus Blue Jackets. But Tavares has spent almost his entire NHL career in the middle. Until now. 

Tavares has played the last two games on left wing with the newly-acquired Ryan O'Reilly at centre and Marner on the right. 

"It's different, obviously," Tavares acknowledged. "When you're playing centre you're in the middle of the ice a lot, so whether it's defensive or offensively [it's adjusting to] where I'm getting the puck ... [I'm] playing with some pretty good players, so want to continue to get better. It's an opportunity where I can look to thrive in this position."

Keefe had spoken to Tavares, 32, about this possibility in past off-seasons, but Toronto's depth down the middle never allowed for such an experiment. Last week's trade with the St. Louis Blues for centres O'Reilly and Noel Acciari has provided the coaching staff with more flexibility. 

"He's adjusted fine," said Keefe. "I've gone back and watched all the shifts for that line through two games and trying to see if there's something there that maybe there's some difficulty or anything like that and I don't see that. He's handled plays on the wall really well. He's done a really good job of ... embracing it and going with it."

Keefe plans to give the new line some runway to build chemistry. 

"I have to continue to do a good job of adapting to a lot of wall play," Tavares said. "With O'Rye, his headiness and how responsible he is with and without the puck ... can lead to really good looks."

O'Reilly is a Selke Trophy winner and, like Tavares, strong at the dot. O'Reilly has won 22 of 29 faceoffs with the Leafs so far. 

"He's probably one of the smartest centremen I've ever played with," said Sabres winger Kyle Okposo, who played with O'Reilly in Buffalo from 2015-18. "He never gives your wingers a bad puck, never puts them in a bad spot and is very responsible on the defensive side."

Keefe wants to keep O'Reilly in a comfortable position as he adapts to a new environment. It's been a whirlwind few days for the Clinton, Ont. native.  

"I still can't believe it," O'Reilly said of joining his hometown team. "It's a little surreal." 

Meanwhile, there are some potential advantages for Tavares, who has worked hard on his skating, but has never been the fastest guy. 

"It's less of a workload," Keefe noted. "You don't have to skate as much getting up and down the rink and getting all the way back. So, there's some advantages for anybody that plays on the wing. It helps them on offence especially [and] just to have a little extra gas in the tank."

Tavares scored on the power play on Sunday. Marner converted a nice pass off the rush from Morgan Rielly in Chicago. O'Reilly picked up an assist at the end of a power play on Saturday. But, so far, that trio has not broken through in 5-on-5 play together.

"We feel maybe just a hair off at times," said Tavares, who fired six shots on net during Sunday's loss in Chicago. 

"When I look at some of their offensive chances, they're really close," Keefe stressed. "They look to me like a group that's close to breaking out and we'll see how it is tonight."

The Leafs haven't held a full practice since the trade, which has limited the chances to build chemistry.  

"We're doing a lot of things well," O'Reilly said. "At times we're still trying to read each other and see how things are playing out, but each game we're getting pucks back and we're close. Soon we're going to start to take off and be better." 

"It's really fresh and new," Marner said. "We have done a good job through the neutral zone. Really, the thing that's stood out with him is how great he is with his forecheck, his stick, his presence, just knocking pucks down and making plays off that. When we get the puck back, it's going to take probably another game or so or a couple practices to really find our rhythm there and finding each other throughout the middle of the ice, through the slot and the O-zone."

The Leafs did not hold a practice on Monday as the team travelled from Chicago to Buffalo. Usually, the team will hold a full skate after a day away from the rink, but the on-ice workout on Monday morning was optional. 

"It's just something we've been monitoring for a while," Keefe explained. "These mornings after a day off on the road with the 11:30 time slot [for the skate] ... as we looked over the last three seasons, our results haven't been nearly as good in this situation with the mandatory skates. So, it's really just trying something different and putting it in the hands of the players in terms of them taking what they need this morning to make sure they're ready for tonight."

Auston Matthews and Marner were the only two players, who didn't hit the ice. 

The Leafs are wrapping up a stretch of three games in four nights while the Sabres have been off since a win in San Jose on Saturday. 

"Incredible skill, speed, both on forward and defence," Keefe said of the Sabres. "An exciting team to watch that way, but a dangerous team to play against. I thought when we played them back in November [a 5-2 win for the Leafs] we did an exceptional job of defending and that's going to be required tonight. They're a top-five team in the NHL in goals scored at even strength, power play's dangerous, lots of guys that can score on different lines. They got two first-overall picks on the back end and a number of top picks at forward. I don't know how many first-round picks there are in total on the team, but there's a ton of talent on the team that's taken a big step and is right there in the thick of the playoff push. In fact, by points percentage I think they’re in as of today."

Buffalo does indeed have the eighth best points percentage in the Eastern Conference at .556. 

Buffalo's Tage Thompson is third in the NHL with 36 goals this season. He trains with fellow Arizona native Matthews in the off-season. 

"The last few summers we've been down in Arizona skating together," Thompson said. "Just kind of picking his brain a little bit and watching him and trying to compete against him. It's been good for my game." 

How so? 

"Just picking up certain characteristics of his game, you know, watching the way he shoots the puck and just using his size," said the 25-year-old, who played one season alongside Matthews at the US National Team Development Program. "He's so strong holding onto pucks. I love watching his creativity and he's a great player, so just trying to pick up a little thing here and there and apply it to my own game." 

Thompson matched a career high with nine shots on goal, but failed to bulge the twine on Nov. 19 in Toronto. He had scored a goal in each of his previous four games against the Leafs. 

"Tage has been, this year, unbelievable," said O'Reilly. "I feel like every time you turn on the TV it's another highlight reel of something he's doing. Even today watching video of how skilled he is and dynamic he is, it will be very tough to play against him."

Thompson was acquired by the Sabres on July 1, 2018, in a deal that sent O'Reilly to St. Louis. 

"He's really good at picking pucks off," Thompson said of O'Reilly. "He has a really good stick. You can't be careless with pucks; you can't be turning them over so just have to be simple and smart tonight."

A big reason for Buffalo's turnaround has been the play of Rasmus Dahlin. 

"No doubt he's move into the upper echelon of defencemen in the league," said Keefe. 

"If he doesn't win a Norris Trophy, I'm shocked," raved Sabres coach Don Granato. "He defends exceptionally well, exceptionally quick and Owen [Power] has progressed immensely." 

Power is the other first-overall pick the Sabres boast on the back end. He pairs with Mattias Samuelsson while Dahlin skates alongside Henri Jokiharju. 

"We're very comfortable with those four guys and what they're doing at key moments in key situations against top players around the league," Granato said. 

Power admits it's been tricky going from college to the busier NHL schedule. He's learned to spend less time on the ice during practice in order to maintain energy. 

Power will play his 60th game in the NHL on Tuesday. It's his third showdown with his hometown team and the first one in Buffalo. Is he ready for the Leafs "wackos" to stream across the border and fill the building, a Buffalo-based reporter asked. 

"It's going to be fun," the Mississauga, Ont. native said. "Any time you have a good crowd it's a lot of fun to play in, so I'm excited for it."

He doesn't consider Leafs Nation to be full of "wackos" though, right? 

"I don't know about that," the 20-year-old said with a laugh. "They're definitely next level."

Power, who will have his dad and girlfriend in attendance on Tuesday, grew up a Leafs fan and relishes the chance to measure himself against Matthews. 

"I find it a lot of fun to be able to challenge myself and go up against a guy that I grew up watching and being a big fan of," Power said. "For me, it's pretty cool and just a lot of fun to have that challenge."

Power notes that watching Matthews on television doesn't do justice to his 6-foot-3, 208-pound frame. 

"Playing against him you really get a better understanding of how strong he really is," Power said. "Just how strong he is on pucks and how tough he is to knock off and get him off balance."

Marner and Rielly executed a beautiful play in the third period on Sunday. From his own blue line, Rielly fired a bank pass off the end boards, which Marner corralled before making a great move around Jaxson Stauber. 

"I was kind of curling back there and had a bit of speed," Marner recalled. "I saw that d-man try to hold that blueline and I went eye to eye with him and just tried to say, 'End wall,' and lucky enough [Rielly] heard me."

Marner notes that he and Rielly have tried that play before, but Sunday was the first time it led directly to a goal. Rielly actually set up Jake Gardiner for the same type of goal a few years ago in Detroit. 

"It was a great little bounce pass from him," Marner said. 

"Just good communication with him," Rielly said. "I know he likes that [play]."

After missing Friday's practice and not dressing on Saturday due to an illness, Ilya Samsonov struggled on Sunday. 

"I feel better, but still it's a little bit hard after I lost a lot of water," Samsonov admitted after allowing four goals on 28 shots. "A little bit hard."

Samsonov smiled before describing what he's been dealing with. 

"A hard day in the s--tter," he said. "It's not great."

Considering the circumstances, Samsonov planned on, um, flushing Sunday's result quickly. 

"A hard game for us, for all team," he said. "We get to 3-3 and then bad decision and Chicago scored again on us. It's okay. We need to move forward. It's hard schedule right now. No time to sit and head down. We need heads up and get working." 

Samsonov's road record is now 3-5-1. His save percentage has dipped to .898 away from Toronto. He'll get a chance to improve those numbers on Tuesday night. Samsonov has won both his previous games against the Sabres. 

Acciari scored his first goal as a Leaf on Sunday. 

"It felt great to get it out of the way early," the 31-year-old said. 

O'Reilly was the headliner in last week's blockbuster trade, but Acciari also figures to be a significant contributor despite starting in a fourth-line role between Zach Aston-Reese and Alex Kerfoot.

"He is just a reliable and responsible player on both sides of the puck," raved Keefe. "He plays a very hard and simple offensive game, and yet he plays with confidence and poise with his head up to make a play. He gets rewarded [Sunday] around the net, but he has been around the net in both games. Defensively, he is in good spots. He has an incredible defensive stick. He is just really heavy and hard on the puck. When he pushes on you or leans on you, you stop generally. Very, very encouraged with what we have seen from him."

Acciari has fired seven shots on net, recorded six hits and has also helped Toronto kill off all four penalties taken in the last two games. Acciari led all Leafs forwards in shorthanded ice time over the weekend.

"It seems like he brings it every single night," Marner observed. "When he's getting on the forecheck, he's taking the body and trying to separate the man from the puck. It's been pretty clear here that he's coming in with a lot of energy, a lot of pace. He's bringing a lot to our kill."

What has allowed Acciari to make such a strong impression despite the whirlwind last few days? 

"You just try and play hockey," Acciari stated simply. "I mean, yeah, it's meeting a lot of new people, but everyone here has been welcoming to me and O'Rye. There's one goal in mind in this locker room and we want to be a part of that." 

"The Acciari group, that's the best our fourth line has looked all season," Keefe said.

O'Reilly and Michael Bunting may be getting a bit nostalgic during this road trip. They can share stories about their days at Cardinal Newman High School in Scarborough, Ont. 

"He went to Newman a little before me," said Bunting. "I'll be talking to him about that. I know his aunt really well. She was my teacher and my volleyball coach. Yeah, it's a small world." 

O'Reilly picked up his first point as a Leaf on Saturday courtesy a second assist on the second goal by Bunting in the second period. It came just as a Leafs power play expired. O'Reilly has started on Toronto's second man-advantage unit, which provides that group with a faceoff ace.  

"He's been a significant power-play contributor in St. Louis," said Keefe. "He was playing more first-unit time in previous years than he was this year. He's very good down the middle of the ice whether that's net front or as the bumper. We'll continue to play around with that a little bit and see what the right fit is in terms of where his spot will be and who the right guys to complement him are." 

Bunting's second goal on Saturday was a nice one-time shot from inside the right circle that beat Jake Allen on the blocker side. 

"That's something I wanted to work on in the off-season and still work on in it during practices as well," Bunting said, "kind of being a threat farther away from the net instead of being right in front of the net. My game and where I want to be is in front of the net and that's where I want to get my goals, but if I have opportunities from afar I don't want to be afraid to do it."

It was Bunting's 18th goal of the season, but his first by way of the slap shot. 

"I know he's worked on that shot, in particular, quite a bit," said Keefe. "Those shots don't necessarily present themselves a whole lot especially for a player like him who plays on the line that he does [with Matthews and William Nylander] and plays where he does on the power play. He's going to be in and around the net, but the more versatile you can be as a scorer, it helps you, of course. He was certainly eager to shoot that puck and a lot of that is because he's put in the work on that particular shot."  

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Rasmus Sandin skated on Tuesday morning, but the defenceman will miss a second straight game with an undisclosed injury. 

"The fact that he wanted to get out there today and was able to move around a bit is a positive sign," said Keefe. "He's not going to play tonight, but he's not far away."

The next Leafs game will be Friday when they host the Minnesota Wild.  

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Projected Leafs lines for Tuesday's game: 

Bunting - Matthews - Nylander 

Tavares - O'Reilly - Marner 

Jarnkrok - Kampf - Engvall 

Aston-Reese - Acciari - Kerfoot 

Rielly - Holl

Giordano - Liljegren 

Brodie - Timmins

Samsonov starts 

Woll