TORONTO — If a jolt of panic shot through Leafs Nation Monday morning when Auston Matthews didn’t show up for practice, we can’t blame any fan whose mind spiralled to worst-case scenario.
Just one year ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ No. 1 centre missed Games 5 and 6 of the first round due to a secret ailment. And only five months ago, Matthews’ undisclosed “day to day” upper-body injury swelled into 27 days between game action and a round-trip flight to visit a specialist in Munich.
So, yes, on the eve of another Maple Leafs’ clinching opportunity, the team said Matthews simply needed rest. Hey, he skated 26:23 in Saturday’s loss, second-most among all forwards, and has been leaned on in three straight overtime decisions.
And, also yes, we should forgive those outside Leafs HQ for wondering if Matthews is hindered, not just tired.
“I just listen to the body,” Matthews explained Tuesday morning, after about 15 minutes of shooting drills with Max Domi. “Sometimes you just feel like you need a little extra rest or time off the ice.”
So, what percentage of health is Matthews skating at in this series?
“Everybody’s grinding right now,” he replied. “I mean, it’s that point in the season where it’s hard, physical hockey, and you’re always gonna go through different things. So, it’s nothing that’s abnormal.
“So, it’s not really something that’s… I dunno. It’s not a big deal.”
To a man, Matthews’ coach and teammates will tell you that the captain is feeling good, is in fine spirits, and is simply taking the necessary steps to perform when the puck drops.
“He’s just doing what he needs to do to get himself ready to play and be at his best,” John Tavares says.
Matthews and Craig Berube communicate regularly about setting up the player and the team for success, and the 59-year-old coach recognizes that today’s star athlete has greater input and understanding of how much practise is necessary.
“If they feel like they need a little more rest, I feel like it’s a good thing,” Berube said. “He’s played a lot of hockey, and he’s good at managing his body and what he needs. A lot like Johnny Tavares.
“He’s learned a lot from probably Johnny and watching him over the years and how he does things. And he’s pretty dialled in with that department.”
While Matthews — and star winger Mitch Marner — skated in another relatively quiet potential clinching game Saturday in Ottawa, they have enjoyed an excellent series defensively.
The score is 5-0 for Toronto when Matthews and Marner hit the ice at even strength, and both have piled up power-play points.
Would Matthews and, by extension, Leafs fans like to see more than one goal off the sniper’s stick so far? Sure.
But it’s not for lack of effort.
“He works insanely hard. I see everything that you guys see. But also behind the scenes, he’s an extremely hard worker — one of the hardest I’ve seen,” says veteran Max Pacioretty.
“Everyone wants to talk about talent, but nothing was given to him. He’s put in the work. And whether it’s recovery or doing what it takes to feel good that night, or just overall for the season, he’s put in the work.”
Senators must fight contentment
Likely the most delicious goal of Travis Green’s career was chased by bitter defeat and elimination less than 24 hours later.
Playing for the 2003 Maple Leafs, Green scored a dramatic double-overtime winner against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals to stave off elimination and force a Game 7… in which Toronto promptly got trounced 6-1.
A soaring high flipped to a gutting low.
“If anything, I learned that you need to get over it fast and get ready to play the next game. Because we lost the next night,” Green told reporters in Ottawa.
That is the challenge facing Green’s plucky Senators, who can ill afford to be content with Jake Sanderson’s prime-time OT heroics Saturday if they wish to make a real series of this thing.
Did one home win for the wild-card team — and another missed clinch for this era of Maple Leafs — plant a seed of doubt?
“You’d have to ask them that. I’m worried about winning the next game,” Green said. “We are the underdog. Everyone knows that.
“But we also have belief within our room that we can beat anyone in the league.”
Inside the Sens room, everyone is preaching a one-game-at-a-time approach. Force one more trip to the capital.
The Leafs room is more relaxed, which is fine, provided they summon more urgency from puck drop in Game 5 than they flexed at the beginning of Game 4.
“Their desperation is obviously gonna be very high as well. So, make sure we match it and go above it and execute our game plan,” Marner said. “The building’s been rocking the first two games, so very excited to hear it (Tuesday). We just gotta make sure we embrace the moment and be ready for it.”
To that end, John Tavares — the Leafs’ best and most consistent forward in Game 4, despite the concussion scare — will be ready. Tavares, you’ll recall, has scored the clinching goal both times his team won a playoff round.
“Anytime you got a chance to move on and that’s what comes down to, you want to go out there and try to make a difference,” Tavares said, “whether that’s doing something defensively, making a play that can lead to a goal, or putting it in back of the net yourself.”
Swedish connection
Toronto’s William Nylander and Ottawa’s Linus Ullmark go back like lumbar support.
Now prominent figures on opposing sides of the Battle of Ontario, they were teammates for two seasons as young pros for Modo in the Swedish league (2013-14 and 2014-15). They reunited at the 4 Nations to represent their country.
Ullmark rhymes off all five tools at Nylander’s disposal: skating, stick handling, vision, hockey IQ, and shot.
“There’s a reason why he has a couple breakaways every game. And because he does, people will say that he puts the team in a vulnerable position. But if he gets three breakaways a game, he can go out there and score two of them at least,” Ullmark said before the series started
“I always felt that whenever Willy’s on the ice, there’s a threat lurking in the shadows.”
Nylander did have one clean break on Ullmark and surprised by unleashing a full slapshot. He can appreciate how far they have both come since Modo.
“I knew he was a great goalie, but it’s hard (to predict a Vezina),” Nylander said. “Like, you could be a great player in Sweden, and you don’t know what’s gonna happen in the NHL. But I always knew that he was an unbelievable goalie. So, I wouldn’t say I was surprised that it happened at all.”
Nylander has beaten his old teammate just once this series but has chipped in with five assists and sits second (to Marner) in series scoring with six points.
One-Timers: Backup Joseph Woll missed Monday’s practice because he was “under the weather,” according to Berube, but was back on the ice Tuesday.… Ottawa’s crowd was fierce in some of its taunts. “Mar-ner’s leav-ing!” is one of them. “You do hear it, but at the same time, you’re focused on just playing hockey,” Marner says. “And once you’re on the ice, you don’t hear anything. You’re just trying to figure out plays and talking to one another and seeing what you can do to try to capitalize on their mistakes.”…. The Senators have barely practised all series, and that’s by design. “Emotions run high. Mental breaks are important,” Green reasons…. Nick Cousins spoke to Ottawa reporters on his fine for warmup antics. “I’ve played with Sollie numerous times in my career. Probably talk to him once a week,” Cousins said. “He’s playing the best hockey of his career. I’m happy for him.”
Maple Leafs projected Game 5 lineup vs. Ottawa Senators:
Knies – Matthews – Marner
Holmberg – Tavares – Nylander
McMann – Domi – Pacioretty
Lorentz – Laughton – Järnkrok
Rielly – Carlo
McCabe – Tanev
Ekman-Larsson – Benoit
Stolarz starts
Woll
