BOSTON — William Nylander has not been ruled out to play Game 2, yet he did not appear at Monday’s morning skate like a player at full health.
“It’s great to see him with the group. He looks good out there,” Sheldon Keefe said.
The Toronto Maple Leafs coach is only half correct: It was encouraging to see Nylander participating in a full team skate. He did not look that good.
The star winger appeared to be labouring through his reps and was wearing what looked like additional back support under his sweater. He did not participate in line rushes with his regular unit and stayed out for extra work with the scratches.
Keefe said the club would see how Nylander feels the rest of the day before deciding on his readiness for game action.
No doubt, the 40-goal threat was missed in Game 1, as the Leafs only scored once.
“He’s one hell of a talent. Does a lot of things for us out there, even strength, power play,” Mitch Marner said. “He creates on offence with his skill and speed through the neutral zone and really just from picking up pucks in the D-zone.”
Should Nylander sit again, expect the same forward lines as Game 1.
Domi’s passion is a series X-factor
Fired up well before puck drop, Max Domi began hacking at savvy super-pest Brad Marchand before the clock began running Saturday. Referee Gord Dwyer immediately had a chat with Domi, but the warning was ignored.
And by the time the dust settled on a 5-1 win for the Bruins, Domi was a dash-1 with two minor penalties. And Jake DeBrusk scored a power-play goal, Boston’s fourth, with Domi in the box for a retaliatory slash on Marchand that had nothing to do with goal prevention.
“Domi’s penalty obviously is the one that I would call an undisciplined penalty. I understand what he’s trying to do, but he crossed the line there, and can’t do that,” Keefe said post-game, making public some frustration with the top-line winger’s passion getting the best of him.
Domi was spotted trying to swipe the game puck after the final buzzer sounded, but the Bruins were able to secure it and place it in a case for which they hope to add 15 more.
Domi was not made available to reporters following Game 1 but did speak Monday.
“Game 1’s over with. Game 2 is tonight, as far as I know, and we’re ready to go,” Domi said, in full game-face mode. “We sent a message, for sure.
“They’re a really good team. Obviously, we know that, we respect them, and we’re just not going to take a step back.”
Domi must channel his aggression and love for the crest properly. Not back down. But also step up and create some of the superb scoring chances that earned him a top-line promotion in the first place.
He racked up a career-high 118 penalty minutes in the regular season. He must be more judicious about the ones he takes in this series.
“It’s playoff hockey. It’s all part of the intensity,” Keefe defended Monday.
“I love Max’s intensity.”
Wait… Isn’t offence their identity?
The most frightening statistic when it comes to the state of the Maple Leafs is that they have scored two goals or fewer in each of their past eight playoff games — a disturbing trend that must be rectified ASAP.
This roster is not built to grind out 2-1 playoff games. They need to win 4-3, with strikes from the men making all the money because of their ability to pile up gaudy offensive stats in the first 82 games of the year.
“They’re respected for their offence and the way they can score goals. Bring that,” former Bruins coach Claude Julien said Monday on The JD Bunkis Podcast.
John Tavares has one point in his past six post-season games. Marner has three over that span. Auston Matthews has two. All three got shut out in Game 1, despite three power-play opportunities.
“I thought Mitch made some plays, got puck to good spots at different times, got some deliveries for us to get the puck at the net. I thought he was like a lot of our other guys: At times really good, but needed to do it more consistently and more frequently,” Keefe said.
“Our approach does not need to change. We just need to be able to execute it more consistently and trust it. The guys who did have success in the game. The guys who didn’t, didn’t have as much.”
Ryan Reaves believes his team was too east-west in its attack during Game 1. (East-west is how Marner often stirs his magic. Problem is, the space to do that shrinks in spring.)
“Not direct enough,” Reaves said. “This team, they’ll make you pay when you make mistakes in the neutral zone. They come at you fast. So, you have to be a lot more direct; you got to get in their zone a lot cleaner with a lot more pace. I thought at times we didn’t. When we did, we carried the play. But when we started going east to west, it was death for us.”
Samsonov must start again
Joseph Woll is ready to go. Yet based on the backup’s previous three starts against the Bruins — four goals against in each, all losses — and the fact that Game 1 was not Ilya Samsonov‘s fault, we’re giving the Russian more leash.
Yes, Samsonov has given up four, five, and six in his past three starts. But if you make the switch after one game, you risk losing him mentally.
“Keep on working. Doesn’t mean after three games I’m a bad goalie,” Samsonov says.
“I believe in myself. I believe in my skill. I believe in everybody in this locker room. And this why you make some confidence.”
A rare Maple Leaf who loves TD Garden
Joel Edmundson took a moment before the Maple Leafs first skate at TD Garden to soak in one of his most cherished places on Earth.
Immune to the playoff ghosts of 2018 and 2019 that haunt the current Leafs core, the veteran defenceman partied in the Garden’s visitors’ room after hoisting the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in ’19.
“Great memories,” Edmundson smiled. “Actually, I went out there and took a second before practice just to take it all in again. It’s good memories and I want to make some more good memories in this arena.”
The 30-year-old thought back to the Blues’ team bus rolling down the Causeway, en route to destiny.
“Everyone on the sidewalk is flipping you the bird. It’s funny, and all of us on the bus are just laughing. It just makes it more entertaining,” Edmundson says of the hostile locals.
“They just love hockey. They’re very passionate. They make sure the Bruins have home-ice advantage. They’ll boo you. They’ll chirp you. They’ll do anything to give them the advantage, but that’s what makes it so fun.”
Maple Leafs projected Game 2 lines in Boston:
Bertuzzi – Matthews – Domi
Knies – Tavares – Marner
Robertson – Holmberg – Järnkrok
Dewar – Kämpf – Reaves
Rielly – Lyubushkin
Benoit – McCabe
Edmundson – Liljegren
Samsonov starts
Woll
