SUNRISE, Fla.鈥擬aybe the Maple Leafs found what they鈥檇 been missing on the way to Friday鈥檚 do-or-die Game 6.
As head coach Craig Berube reeled off an inventory of areas in need of improvement in the wake of Wednesday鈥檚 humiliating 6-1 loss in Game 5, that sent the Leafs to South Florida on what was easy enough to cast as a death march, most of the coach鈥檚 list of demands amounted to fundamental stuff. The Leafs, Berube said, needed to skate, because they 鈥渟tood around and watched鈥 too often Wednesday. They needed to compete harder, because they were in the midst of a three-game playoff losing streak in which they were losing far too many puck battles. But beyond all that, Berube offered another piece of advice as his team attempted to stave off elimination.
鈥淵ou have to enjoy the moment,鈥 said the coach. 鈥淭his is what guys play for.鈥
So, for all the grim whispers around this team and the cacophony of social-media doomsaying online, Friday鈥檚 morning skate in nearby Fort Lauderdale was occasionally accompanied by a joyous whoop from one smiling Leaf or another. And Friday night鈥檚 2-0 win saw the Leafs do what their coach suggested they do: shake the weight of the world off their slumped shoulders and play freely, as though the game is fun. Because winning certainly is.
鈥淚t is fun. It鈥檚 hockey. It鈥檚 competition. It鈥檚 what you dream of as a kid growing up, playing in games that matter,鈥 Chris Tanev, the Leafs defenceman, said before the game. 鈥淪o we need to embrace the moment, enjoy the moment and live in the moment.鈥
A game after Berube lamented how his team was guilty of 鈥渙verthinking鈥 as the Panthers clobbered the Leafs in a game that inspired boos at Scotiabank Arena, it was 海角社区官网that caught the Panthers flat-footed more than once with the season on the line. This was a tight game, with not much separating the sides. But ultimately it was the Leafs preying on Florida mistakes that made the difference.
Auston Matthews scored the game鈥檚 opening goal on a feed from Mitch Marner after Florida鈥檚 Aaron Ekblad bobbled a breakout pass at the home team鈥檚 blue line with 13:40 remaining in the third period. It was Matthews鈥檚 first career goal in 11 second-round playoff games, and it came on his 24th shot of the series. But it couldn鈥檛 have come at a better time.
AUSTON MATTHEWS PUTS THE LEAFS IN THE LEAD!! 馃槫
鈥 Sportsnet (@Sportsnet)
鈥淚鈥檝e had some good opportunities all series,鈥 Matthews said. 鈥淚鈥檓 just going to continue to shoot and believe the next one鈥檚 going in.鈥
After Max Pacioretty beat Florida defenceman Nate Schmidt in a sprint to the net front and scored on a cross-ice pass from Bobby McMann to make it 2-0, a team that looked dispirited in Game 5 was on the way to being rejuvenated by victory in Game 6. Joseph Woll鈥檚 22-save shutout, the first of his playoff career, sealed the deal.
The Leafs are now 7-8 when facing elimination in the Shanaplan era. That they鈥檙e 0-5 in Game 7s聽鈥 hey, at least they鈥檝e got another chance to prove themselves in Sunday鈥檚 winner-take-all contest at Scotiabank Arena.
What can the Leafs expect?
鈥淚t鈥檚 fun,鈥 said the 36-year-old Pacioretty, who has played in four Game 7s and been on the winning side of three. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 wait. We鈥檙e going to war.鈥
The Panthers, as defending Stanley Cup champions, will no doubt be installed as favourites. But it鈥檚 not as though Florida hasn鈥檛 shown vulnerabilities. As Panthers coach Paul Maurice said in the lead-up to Friday鈥檚 game, Florida hasn鈥檛 exactly figured out how to plug the holes that have allowed the Leafs to find good scoring chances on Sergei Bobrovsky. And for all the outcry about Toronto鈥檚 flat performance in Game 5, Maurice pointed out that, according to Florida鈥檚 analytics, it was far closer than the lopsided score suggested.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e in alone on us a bunch of times,鈥 Maurice said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e getting rid of all of (Toronto鈥檚 chances), but that鈥檚 why Sergei is what he is to us. That鈥檚 how important he is. To completely prevent it, we would have to completely change how we play, and we鈥檙e a little far down the road for that now.鈥
The Leafs have often played well in moments when large swaths of their fan base have written them off, and Friday鈥檚 game was no different. 海角社区官网supplied a sharp opening period, outshooting the Panthers 7-2 thanks to a defensive approach that kept the opponent to the outside and prioritized cutting off shooting lanes. The tireless Tanev blocked more shots in the first period (four) than Woll was required to stop (two). The Leafs blocked a series-high 31 shots all told, and managed the puck to near perfection.
鈥淲e played a simple game tonight, and we were determined,鈥 Berube said. 鈥淭hat stands out to me more than anything聽鈥 determination.鈥
Florida tilted the ice in the second period, when referees somehow missed the moment Florida captain Aleksander Barkov inserted his stick underneath Matthews鈥檚 visor聽鈥 a clip that required Matthews to make a momentary trip down the tunnel for treatment. So it was understandable that Matthews was irate when he was called for high-sticking Ekblad in the midst of a second-period 海角社区官网power play. For all that, the game was scoreless heading into the second intermission. Patience was required, and the Leafs showed plenty. If Game 5 was lost thanks to Toronto鈥檚 paralysis by analysis, the Leafs suffered no such affliction in Game 6. That鈥檚 a step in the correct direction en route to a chance at Game 7 redemption.
Berube, who鈥檚 2-1 in Game 7s as a head coach with a win that includes the Stanley Cup clincher with St. Louis in 2019, was asked what鈥檚 in store on Sunday.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e fun,鈥 Berube said, speaking of Game 7s. 鈥淚 don’t know how players think nowadays, but when I was growing up, and all the people that I knew growing up, they always dreamed of playing in a Game 7 鈥 Everything’s on the line. We gotta come out in Game 7 and do the same things we did (in Game 6). It’s not fancy. It’s just competing. It’s direct. It’s simple hockey.鈥
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