Craig Berube was teasing the media Monday about how closely they had watched practice, knowing there was a lot to keep track of.
New forward lines, a huge stress on power play improvement (both units came out before the main body), Jake McCabe was in his first workout since a suspected concussion, and fellow defenceman Jani Hakanpaa was back, too.
First to special teams, where the extra-man brigade has scored in nine of the past 15 games, but can do much better. In yet another reversal, the star-laden five forward group was put back together, while unproductive defenceman Morgan Rielly moved to the second group with fellow blueliner Oliver Ekman-Larsson behind Max Domi, Bobby McMann and Nick Robertson.
“The power play has been 23 per cent over the last 10 games, which is pretty good,” coach Berube began. “Could it be better? Yeah. For me, it’s the time of game. When you (miss) a power play, you just kill your momentum. That’s what stands out.
“It doesn’t always go in the net, but we have to generate momentum. Do that by execution. There’s a lot of talent out there (Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, William Nylander and Matthews Knies on the first unit) and it can be tricky sometimes, but the goal has to be deliver it to the net.”
McCabe, who must remain on injured reserve a couple of more days, departed the practice a little early. Six days before, in retaliation for Philadelphia’s Garnet Hathaway bumping his goalie Joseph Woll, McCabe challenged the Flyer, but landed awkwardly in the ensuing fight.
“It’s great he’s out there, no setbacks,” Berube said.
Hakanpaa said he doesn’t have a timeline after his latest minor knee procedure.
“I just thought that could be the best thing I could do at the time,” Hakanpaa said of the surgery “Just kind of help with the longevity of it. I guess time will tell.“
Hakanpaa hinted he would like to be ready by the time the 4 Nations Face-Off begins in a month, though waiting through the two-week break would give him extra time. He has played in only two games since mid-November and worked out with farm call-up Marshall Rifai as a pairing on Monday.
“I don’t know how close he is, but today is a step in the right direction,” Berube said. “He’s going to need more before he’s ready to go.”
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