The Maple Leafs just emerged — relatively intact (or at least bodily traumas are being kept on the down low) — from a hit-show bout with the Ottawa Senators.
They go from that frying pan into the gang-banging cauldron of the Florida Panthers, with an added side of nasty.
It’s the modus operandi of the formidable defending Stanley Cup champions. Or as former Panther Steven Lorenz puts it: “Take no prisoners in the playoffs.”
Leafs coach Craig Berube might have found an edge in his locker room in the presence of Steven
Florida left their peninsular rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning, in triage: Captain Victor Hedman played on a broken foot. Oliver Bjorkstrand underwent emergency surgery for internal bleeding from a lower-body injury. The catalogue of Lightning woes included a broken finger, a wrist tear, a shoulder separation and a knee contusion. Not to mention the concussion that knocked Brandon Hagel right out of the post-season on an elbow to the brainpan delivered by Aaron Ekblad, who wasn’t penalized for the imperiling blow but afterward was handed a two-game suspension. He will miss Game 1 when º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøhosts the Panthers on Monday.
“If you’re going to go for someone’s head, people are going to be coming for you,’’ an emotional Hagel told reporters in the backwash of that bruising grudge series.
The Panthers don’t putz around, so the Leafs know what to expect in Round 2 of the playdowns.
Two years ago, the Core Four were on thin ice. Now they’ll face the team that could have undone
There was a time, in more delicate days, when the malice that Florida channels would have pre-emptively doomed and damned Toronto, going mano a mano with an opponent that led the NHL in hits (2,446) over the regular season. But these aren’t the Leafs of yore. With explosive depth charges such as Chris Tanev, Simon Benoit, Jake McCabe and Bobby McMann, they can take it and they can dish it. Or so they insist.
They are steeling themselves for it.
“You have to expect to be hit,’’ said Tanev, as intrepid as they come. “You’re going to have to take some hits to make plays against that team. They forecheck extremely hard and they’re physical. I’ve been hurt a lot throughout my career but in the playoffs it’s about sacrificing for the bigger goal of team success. You have to go get some pucks you don’t want to go get, where you’re going to get hit pretty hard. You get up and you move on.’’
Statistically, the Senators threw more hits than any other team in the opening round: 269 vs. 204 for Toronto. While it may not have seemed that physical from the outside — no open-ice crunch stands out — players certainly felt it in their jangled bones. “They bumped us a lot,’’ Tanev said. “Similar to how Florida is going to play. They’re the Stanley Cup champions and they do it the best.’’
Florida had a 3-1-0 record against º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøand, of course, put the boots to them in the second round two years ago, the Leafs handily punted in five phlegmatic games. That doesn’t necessarily amount to a hill of beans on a team that has seen a roster turnover of nearly 40 per cent. GM Brad Treliving may have finally got the composition right.
º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøadvanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs because they played
Stay-at-home defenceman Brandon Carlo was a potent deadline acquisition. He had back-to-back post-season wrangles with Florida while with the Boston Bruins.
“They’re obviously going to come very hard on the forecheck. They play a very straightforward game. They’re on top of you in all aspects in all three zones,” he said. “We have to match their intensity. We need to move pucks fast, get them out of our zone and hopefully go in and forecheck them, play a little bit harder on their bodies and their defencemen.
“You’re going to be dealing with that pressure on the forecheck and in our D-zone, especially with those guys coming down as fast as they can.
Bashing on the boards, close combat in the corners.
“Overall, you kind of know that it’s coming and try to brace yourself as best as possible.’’
The Panthers have a high vexation quotient, embodied by the likes of Brad Marchand (you again) and Sam Bennett. Carlo says it’s all part of the game within the game. “Their game is trying to pull you out of your mental mindset. Like, after whistles. Trying to get you to create more penalties. So I think we play really hard in between the whistles and then, as soon as the whistle blows, look them right in the eye and not retaliate. That’s our M.O.’’
McMann dispensed 17 hits against Ottawa in his post-season debut, including a team-high seven in Game 3. He’s primed for the Panthers.
“It’s huge,’’ he said about that facet of his game, doling it out and sucking it up. “You just learn to absorb it, make plays through it and push to play your game within that structure. I want to bring everything — offensive, defensive, physicality. If I’m not scoring, that’s something I can really control, that competitiveness.’’
Gutsy is what Scott Laughton displayed with 26 seconds left in Game 6, hurling himself in front of a Jake Sanderson slapshot, which segued into William Nylander’s empty netter in the 4-2 win. “Great block by him, putting his body on the line,’’ coach Craig Berube lauded following Saturday’s optional practice. “But that’s what you need.’’
Very much a la Berube, from his own hard-nosed playing career.
He’s prepping his players for the challenge to come, anticipating signature Panthers aggression and bellicosity.
“Our team is ready for it, they understand it. Listen, that’s playoffs. It’s going to be hard, there’s going to be hits. You’ve got to get up and play.
“It’s going to be a battle. It’s going to be a grind.’’
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation