Get back to Craig Berube in March or April about how the Maple Leafs shape up as a threat to win the Atlantic Division.
Certainly, it’s a fun topic while his team holds first seed this week, given they have been fated to second or third every other season to be matched against a guaranteed gritty Atlantic foe in the opening round of the NHL playoffs. But the Stanley Cup-champion Florida Panthers cut the lead to one point on Wednesday, and Boston and Tampa Bay are just three and four back, respectively, entering play Friday. Toronto’s next game is Saturday against the Lightning in Tampa.
“I really don’t think about (first spot) too much to be honest,” coach Berube told media in Florida before the club took Thursday off. “We’re focused on day-to-day, game-to-game right now, trying to build our identity and our team.
“Do I think it’s important? Yeah, I do. I think you can get home ice advantage, always an important thing (not to mention maybe a wild-card team from the Metropolitan Division). But we’re a long way away from that.”
Florida won the Atlantic Division last season and punted the Lightning in five games to establish Cup momentum. But the year before, Boston’s 65-win regular season short-circuited in its first round to the Panthers. One point separated Boston and Florida last season, the Bruins using home ice in Game 7 to dispatch the Leafs.
From April 1 through the last eight games of the schedule, the Leafs play all but one game in the division, twice against Florida, one of those a back-to-back with Tampa Bay and games against Montreal, Buffalo, and Detroit, none of which can be dismissed this early in the term.
“The division isn’t talked about (in the dressing room),” said alternate captain John Tavares. “But the more games you win, the better position you’re in. The rest will take care of itself.
“So far, we’ve put ourselves in a good spot, but there’s a lot of hockey yet to be played. You’re always looking for more.”
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NEXT MAN UP
The day off meant no update on the injury front after Bobby McMann became the eighth forward to be scratched since the start of November. He departed midway through the Maple Leafs’ 5-1 loss to the Panthers with a possible shot block injury in his lower body, the team already struggling to get 5-on-5 goals.
Berube’s hint that a couple of players could be ready for Saturday is an indication Auston Matthews will use Friday’s practice as his final tune-up after nearly a month away having an upper body ailment treated by the club and a specialist in Germany. Matthew Knies, who was working out Wednesday in Florida, is another possibility a week after getting flattened by Vegas defenceman Zach Whitecloud.
Berube has extra defencemen such as Jani Hakanpaa and in a pinch, could field a lineup with seven defencemen and 11 forwards.
PAPA JOHN
While his assist on Mitch Marner’s goal Wednesday was taken away by the official scorer to disrupt his point-a-game average, Tavares is still producing at a high rate and is the de facto leader in the absence of Matthews.
He played through a stick in the face on a power-play draw that went undetected by the referees, having drawn the penalty himself and stayed on task until Marner scored. With 20 points in 21 games and 1,060 in 1,130 games, he’s four points shy of joining the top 75 in National Hockey League history.
Berube was asked about the 34-year-old’s durability.
“I had a similar player in (2019 Cup champion) Ryan O’Reilly in St. Louis. The preparations they put in daily and their routines are why they’re such great pros still. They’re getting up there in age (O’Reilly is 33), but what they put in daily goes a long way to playing at a high level. I don’t think you see a ton of guys as prepared as John.”
LOOSE LEAFS
About the only type of goal the Leafs didn’t get burned on Wednesday was a penalty shot, surrendering at least one on the power play, short-handed, 5-on-5 and empty net. Meanwhile, NHL Stats listed Marner’s lone unassisted power play goal as the first of its kind as Toronto’s only marker in a regulation game since Phil Kessel’s in a 3-1 loss to Edmonton in 2009 … Getting first glance at his Cup ring Wednesday, Panther-turned-Leaf Steven Lorentz declared to Sportsnet it was “the size of a friggin’ dinner plate” … Goalie Anthony Stolarz had no hard feelings when ex-mate Matthew Tkachuk gave him a head shot and was penalized. “Two guys battling, he made a quick turn and caught me on top of head. Nothing malicious, Chucky is one of the top net front presence guys in the league. He makes his living there.”
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