Maple Leafs captain John Tavares is probably not going to be a point-a-game player this season. But he is making a late-season聽charge.
Tavares was held off the scoresheet in Sunday night’s 2-1 road loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, but it was the first time in five games. He’d put together three goals and seven assists over the previous four games.
鈥淚 don’t think (I’m doing) a whole lot different, just finishing,鈥 said Tavares. 鈥淚 want to continue to play well, have a good foundation, good habits in all three zones.
鈥淚’ve liked a lot of things in my game all year. At times you’re a little bit sharper than others, a little fresher at times; that’s part of the grind. You have to continue to stay with it and create chances, and when you get them put them in.鈥
Tavares has 23 goals and 33 assists for 56 points in 68 games. That’s 0.82 points per game, a pace that would be the envy of most NHL forwards but down from 0.98 over his first five seasons.
A month ago, much was made of his demotion to the third line and second power-play unit. He’s back on the second line and first power play now, moves that predated Mitch Marner’s ankle injury.
The truth is, the changes might have invigorated the 33-year-old Tavares. He played with a rotating cast of wingers over the past month: Matt Knies, Bobby McMann, Nick Robertson, Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi and, of course, William Nylander.
Some of that was injury based, but more often it’s coach Sheldon Keefe seeing what works, who plays best with whom, who’s going be ready for the playoffs, and what kind of line matching (or mismatching) the Leafs can get up to.
For less-experienced forwards such as Knies, McMann and Robertson, playing with Tavares helps their development.
鈥淗e’s definitely open to what I see out there,鈥 said Robertson, who spent time with Tavares on the third line last month. 鈥淚’m open, obviously, to what he sees out there, and we’re always talking about what we see and good plays, and also better plays that we can make ...
鈥淗e’s never too high, never too low. Even when we’re in a big game, he’s always dialed in, focused. He makes sure we don’t step off the pedal.鈥
Pretty much across the board, Tavares’s wingers have a higher expected-goals percentage when they play with him. (Knies is an exception, but only by a smidgen.)
McMann has been on left wing lately, soaking up what Tavares says and does.
鈥淚 think I was aware how professional he is, and how much he pays attention to detail and does everything with purpose,鈥 said McMann. 鈥淪o now I get to have a little closer look. It’s a great front-row seat to see how professional you need to be to stay in this league for so long.鈥
Tavares sees good communication as the key to success.
鈥淲hen you’re playing with someone, it’s just good to get some insight on how they think the game, how they see the game, what happened (on a play) or even just reinforcing positive things. You’re just trying to understand each other better as people,” said Tavares.
鈥淚 haven’t had obviously much time with Bobby, until the last couple of weeks here, and we haven’t had that much practice time, either. So it’s all those things on the fly.鈥
That Tavares is ramping up offensively in time for the playoffs (really, all that is going to matter going forward)聽is just a product of how he plays the game.
鈥淗e’s just been focused on the things that help our team win games, and the offence comes with it,” said Keefe. 鈥淐hances come when you’re above the puck and you’re checking. John’s elite at winning pucks back, and scoring is a hot-and-cold type of thing.
鈥淗e’s got lots of confidence, and he’s rolling and making plays, but it’s doing the right things as our captain to help our team win games.鈥
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