Lightning look to flip the switch against improved Leafs

The Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning held optional skates at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday.

Jon Cooper had a message for coaching counterpart Sheldon Keefe after the Lightning eliminated the Leafs in seven hard-fought games last year. 

"He shouldn't change anything," Cooper said. "That series went down to the wire. It could have gone – save here, save there – either way. I think he's done a heck of a job with the team. I think the team has gone from an offence-first mindset to now they play the full 200-foot game. I don't think they get enough credit for how well they play D, because when you have all those offensive stars that's kind of what everyone focuses on. He's found a way to get those guys to focus on that end of the ice, and I think that's a sign of a good coach." 

Keefe guided the Leafs to another 50-win season. Along the way general manager Kyle Dubas traded for six new players: Ryan O'Reilly, Noel Acciari, and Sam Lafferty up front as well as Jake McCabe, Luke Schenn and Erik Gustafsson on defence. All but Gustafsson will be in the Game 1 lineup. 

"They added a ton at the deadline," said Lightning captain Steven Stamkos. "I mean, some really good, quality players – some players you want on your team at this time of year. So, they're an improved team from last year and it went seven, so it’s going to be an extremely difficult series."

The biggest add was O'Reilly, who was named playoff MVP in 2019. 

"I had him in 2017 at the Worlds and I couldn't be a bigger fan of that kid," said Cooper. "He makes guys around him better. Great add for them, no question."

The Lightning, meanwhile, lost a couple two players from last year in defenceman Ryan McDonagh and forward Ondrej Palat. 

"When you say those two names, like, you kind of get sad up here because they meant that much to myself, personally, and our organization," said Cooper. "But then you could go down the road and say Barclay Goodrow, Blake Coleman, Yanni Gourde, David Savard, like, I can go down a list of guys that had that impact with us in the playoffs ... In come new guys. In come [Brandon] Hagel and [Nick] Paul and this year it's [Ian] Cole and you go down the list. They just got to fit in to what we're doing ... Can I sit here and say those guys aren’t missed? No, they'll always be missed. Once I'm retired, I'll still miss those guys."

Tampa Bay was missing their mojo for much of the stretch drive. 

"I would say one of the toughest stretches I've had in recent memory was probably after the trade deadline," Cooper admitted.  

The Lightning were basically locked into a playoff spot and a date with the Leafs in the first round, so there wasn't much to play for. 

"We had some phenomenal stretches after the All-Star Game and some dreadful ones," Cooper said. "Do I chalk some of that up to, 'Let’s just wait until we get to the playoffs'? No question. We were playing extremely well till the night we clinched and after that our game slipped a little ... There was a little bit of mental fatigue in the last four, five weeks of the year."

The core players that have led the franchise to three straight Stanley Cup finals remain and the belief is they will be able to turn it on again now.

"As soon as that calendar switches and that 82nd game is over in the season you can see kind of that twinkle in guys eyes," Stamkos said. 

"You can feel it," said Hagel. "This group is just so used to winning that there's always going to be that switch until that kind of goes away. You got guys that do crazy things in playoffs. Obviously, there's a switch. They do things that not many people have done."

The Leafs are expecting to see a switched-on Lightning. 

"They're mentally strong," said Leafs defenceman Luke Schenn, who won a pair of Stanley Cups with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021. "They feel they always have a chance and can always pull through in any game and any series and that comes with experience and that's why experience is a huge thing." 

Keefe likes the feel around his team. 

"I just think our guys have been very businesslike," the coach said. "I don't think we're getting too worked up or focused too much on changing anything. The guys just have a quiet confidence about them."

Keefe designed the final pre-playoffs practice on Monday to give the players a sense of familiarity. 

"There's certain things inside of each of the drills we're doing but, generally, we tried to go with all the staples we go through throughout the course of the season," Keefe said, "try and keep things as normal as possible." 

Drafted by Toronto in 2008, Schenn will finally get a chance to suit up in a playoff game for the Leafs. 

"Better late than never, I guess," the 33-year-old said with a smile. "It's been a long time in the making. I don't know if you would have predicted in 2008 that my first playoff game would come in 2023. It's been quite a journey and really looking forward to it. Obviously, I watched playoffs last year and you could almost feel the atmosphere and how great it was just even watching through the TV ... It's everything you dream of and couldn't be more proud to be given this opportunity at this point in my career."

Schenn isn't planning to be in contact with any of his "lifelong" friends on the Lightning. 

"I'm not talking to them now," he confirmed. "Phone has been shut off that way."

Schenn did catch up with some of the Lightning players last week in Tampa when the Leafs played their penultimate regular season game. 

"He's a guy that you want on your team especially at this time of year," said Stamkos, who was also teammates with Schenn at the World Juniors. "No matter the role he's given, he is going to give you everything he's got."

The friendship between former St. Louis Blues teammates O'Reilly and Lightning winger Pat Maroon is also on hold. 

"It's going to be weird," said Maroon. "I just wish the best for him no matter what. We won together. He's honestly my best friend. I'm just so happy for him. He gets an opportunity to play for the Stanley Cup again ... I'm not happy the Leafs got him, but happy he gets an opportunity to play in his hometown." 

Tavares was asked if his young sons are excited for the playoffs. 

"I still they're figuring out the concept of the Stanley Cup playoffs," he said with a chuckle, "but they do understand what the Stanley Cup is. They've been asking me for the last few days why I haven't been playing any games, so just trying to explain that. But, yeah, I think they're excited."

Tavares missed the regular season finale for personal reasons, so he hasn't played in a week. He should be fresh for Game 1 and Keefe is easing the workload by moving the 32-year-old to the wing. 

"Having that versatility and flexibility is a strength of my game," Tavares said. 

Tavares played eight games on the wing after O'Reilly came over via trade. 

"Just a lot of wall play and finding ways to get back in the middle of the ice," Tavares said. "Traditionally, that's where I am and probably a lot of my game has been built around."

"You have to spend a lot more time on the walls for sure," Keefe said, "but it is a good habit to have for any winger that you want to get to the middle of the ice. At the end of the day, that's where things happen. A guy like Mitch Marner, for instance, he doesn't spend a whole lot of time on the walls. Once we have the puck, he's getting inside the dots and playing inside in the good ice there." 

The biggest adjustment? 

"Just your assignments and D-zone coverage and those sorts of things," Tavares said, "understanding shot lanes and reading those."

"The game is pretty free flowing nowadays," said Keefe. "It's really in your own end and getting comfortable handling pressure on the walls and the defensive assignments associated with it."

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Projected Leafs lineup based on Monday's practice: 

Bunting - Matthews - Marner 

Tavares - O'Reilly - Nylander 

Kerfoot - Acciari - Jarnkrok  

Aston-Reese - Kampf - Lafferty 

McCabe - Brodie

Rielly - Schenn 

Giordano - Holl

Samsonov starts 

Woll

Projected Lightning lineup based on Monday's practice: 

Stamkos - Point - Kucherov 

Killorn - Cirelli - Hagel

Eyssimont - Paul - Colton

Maroon - Bellemare - Perry 

Hedman - Perbix

Sergachev - Raddysh

Cole - Cernak

Vasilevskiy starts 

Elliott