A half-beat slow on shots goes a long way toward explaining 1-for-8 on the power play in the last two games.
Twenty-nine shots that missed the net entirely goes a long way toward explaining back-to-back losses and the Florida Panthers rising from the 0-2 grave they鈥檇 dug for themselves against the Maple Leafs.
Zero shots for Mitch Marner across the brace of games at Amerant Bank Arena.
The reek of Game 4 has followed the team to Toronto. They鈥檙e verbally spritzing the air freshener.
From a distance and with the benefit of slo-mo review, spared the vexation of being harassed and hounded by an opponent of signature physicality, it鈥檚 easy for the rest of us聽鈥 fans watching anxiously at home and the chattering commentariat聽鈥 to spot how the Leafs got themselves into a knotted pickle where 15 minutes ago they appeared in strong control of their Atlantic Division series.
Too deliberate with the man advantage for one thing, looking for that high-leverage shot. Split-second hesitation that gives defenders time to drop a block, impede with a stick; for the goalie to track and set positionally. Insufficient net-front mayhem.
They know it. They鈥檝e been schooled in it by coach Craig Berube throughout the playoffs. They鈥檝e had an extra day between games to watch the video.
But still the hand-wringing questions are being asked: What the heck are they doing? Where have the smart, savvy Leafs gone?
Let Marner answer.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e trying to make us really work, doing to us what we鈥檙e trying to do to them. Trying to skate us out, make us tired, and then make plays underneath us.鈥欌
On Tuesday morning, following a full-on practice, Marner was attempting to decipher the wayward power play on which he鈥檚 the fifth forward聽鈥 Berube has gone with that format all year. No shots off his stick as the primary playmaker setting up the gunslingers clearly aggravates. He needs to generate more shots, which is precisely the gospel that Berube has continuously preached. Yet his snipers aren鈥檛 sniping.
鈥淭rying to get yourself in better areas,鈥欌 said Marner of the wayward PP. 鈥淚 tried to get shots through in the last game. They did a good job of blocking them. Myself, trying to work around it, trying to find sticks a lot of the time 鈥 cause havoc down low, that鈥檚 what my game is.鈥欌
Muscular Florida D-men, especially the monstrous pairing of Niko Mikkola and Seth Jones, have thwarted the Leafs time after time.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e lengthy, they鈥檙e strong, they鈥檙e big,鈥欌 said Leaf Matthew Knies, who could just as easily be describing himself. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how their whole D-corps is built. But that鈥檚 almost every NHL team these days. Obviously I鈥檓 a bigger player and stronger, so being around the net is the best place for me. It鈥檚 where the goals are scored, especially in the playoffs and that鈥檚 definitely one of my jobs.鈥
鈥淭he Grade A鈥檚 aren鈥檛聽really there as much,鈥欌 Knies added of top-quality scoring opportunities, in particular when the Panthers have a lead and settle into their hard forecheck deny-deny-deny posture. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got to execute and bury the puck when we do get those chances.鈥欌
Pressure to score has landed hard on Auston Matthews, who鈥檚 yet to turn the light red against Florida. He鈥檚 the captain, he makes the big bucks聽鈥 more than anyone else in the NHL聽鈥 and he should be the straw that stirs the drink. It鈥檚 obvious, however, that something is physically amiss and has been this entire season, and possibly he reinjured his hand blocking a shot in the Ottawa series. If so, it hasn鈥檛 bothered him in the faceoff circle, but he was leading all playoff skaters with 23 missed shots in 10 games. That鈥檚 weirdly un-Auston.
鈥淓veryone wants to produce,鈥欌 said Marner. 鈥淓veryone wants to score goals, especially Auston. He doesn鈥檛 let it get down on him. His mood, his energy, his demeanour in the locker room has been unbelievable through it all. Just got to stay patient. This is a hard team to score against. We鈥檝e had opportunities, we鈥檝e had looks. They just haven鈥檛 dropped yet.鈥欌
And, frankly, they played mighty dumb in Game 4: seven penalties, four in the first period 鈥斅爐hree of them undisciplined and the fourth a sloppy puck over the glass. It will be intriguing to see whether Berube makes any lineup changes, perhaps swapping in Nick Robertson, who has his drawbacks but also presents more offensive skill.
As well, everyone is wondering whether the nastiness at the buzzer Sunday聽鈥 misconducts issued to Max Domi, Bobby McMann, Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad聽鈥 will spill over into Wednesday’s Game 5 at Scotiabank Arena. The series was always thumping and snot-nosed; now it鈥檚 full metal jacket malevolent.
Max Domi's hit on Sasha Barkov sparks chaos at the final horn
鈥 Sportsnet (@Sportsnet)
The lingering image from Florida鈥檚 five-game dispatch of the Leafs two springs ago was Radko Gudas (long gone now) roaring like the MGM lion in the face of Joseph Woll after the overtime goal that eliminated Toronto.
What sticks in the craw at the moment, menacingly, is Matthew Tkachuk leaning toward William Nylander on the bench at the end of Game 4, pointing his stick at Toronto鈥檚 leading goal scorer and saying 鈥斅燼ccording to lip readers聽鈥 鈥淚鈥檓 going to get you.鈥欌
Perpetually mellow Nylander wasn鈥檛 fazed then. Berube isn鈥檛 worried now.
鈥淗e probably didn鈥檛 hear him. He doesn鈥檛 even hear me.鈥欌
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