Sidney Crosby’s advice to Auston Matthews: Don’t change a thing.
Crosby, one of the greatest captains in the history of the National Hockey League, was asked on Saturday morning what he thinks will allow Matthews to be successful as captain of the Maple Leafs in such an intense hockey market as Toronto.
“I think it’s just important to be yourself,” Crosby said hours before the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Leafs squared off in Toronto’s home opener at Scotiabank Arena. “Here, everything is magnified that much more. There’s always pressure being a captain, but here, I think you just got to be yourself. There’s going to be lots of experiences to learn from.
“No matter how long you’ve done it or where you are, you’re always learning. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”
Matthews’ ability to do just that, aside from his obvious hockey skills and intelligence, was a factor in the Leafs’ decision to name him captain in August, and it helped that John Tavares was fine with the transition.
Matthews will have something else in mind on Saturday night after the Leafs opened the season with a win and a loss on the road. Neither he, Mitch Marner nor William Nylander recorded a point in the Leafs’ loss in Montreal and victory in New Jersey.
“I thought those two games were really good (from a team perspective),” Matthews said. “We checked well, we didn’t give up much, and we’re creating chances.
“Those chances will start to fall, start to go in, as we continue to build more chemistry, get more acclimated to the way we want to play and on a more consistent basis.
“I think we’re happy with where we’re at right now.”
Said coach Craig Berube, regarding the zeroes beside the stars’ names: “Opportunities were there. Hit some posts, missed the net a little bit, not clean enough at times. But overall, I’m happy with the effort. They’re working and they’re doing the right things, the scoring will come.”
A power-play goal would be nice, too. The Leafs are 0-for-6 to start the season with a man advantage.
Whether Tavares suits up for the Leafs remains to be seen. The former captain missed the morning skate because of an illness, though Berube said “there’s a chance” that Tavares will play tonight.
Max Pacioretty took Tavares’ spot on the top power-play unit during the morning skate.
Joseph Woll, meanwhile, remains day to day as he recovers from lower-body stiffness. Berube said that the goaltender has not been on the ice for the past few days.
With the Leafs playing just once — at home against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday — in the next six days after playing the Penguins, Woll will have plenty of time to get his physical health in order.
Anthony Stolarz is expected to start in goal for Toronto.
For Pittsburgh, coach Mike Sullivan is going with rookie Joel Blomqvist, who made 29 saves in NHL debut on Thursday, a 6-3 win in Detroit against the Red Wings. Forward Bryan Rust (lower body) will be a game-time decision.
At the morning skate, opening-night towels already were draped over each seat at Scotiabank Arena. In the Toronto franchise’s previous 106 home openers, the record is 53-35-15-3.
“It’s always fun,” Matthews said. “The atmosphere is going to be good. Everybody’s always looking forward to it.”
With Tavares absent, this was how the Leafs lined up at the morning skate:
FORWARDS
LW-C-RW
Matthew Knies-Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner
Bobby McMann-Pontus Holmberg-William Nylander
Max Pacioretty-Max Domi-Nick Robertson
Steven Lorentz-David Kampf-Ryan Reaves
DEFENCE
Morgan Rielly-Chris Tanev
Oliver Ekman-Larsson-Jake McCabe
Simon Benoit-Conor Timmins
GOALIES
Anthony Stolarz
Dennis Hildeby
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