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Bring the Passion.
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It’s the motto that was inscribed on the rally towels that were placed on each seat at Scotiabank Arena, a greeting for fans to get them further into the proper mindset on Wednesday night for Game 3 between the Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins.
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Members of Leafs Nation might have been asked to bring some power as well to pass it out to their hockey heroes.
With a 4-2 victory, the Bruins took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, often smothering the Leafs and slamming the door on an ineffective Toronto power play, killing off all five minors.
“Power play is a big part of it, right?” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. “We get to two (goals). Power plays needs to get you one (more), it gets you to three, if not four, and then it’s a good night offensively in the playoffs, against an elite defensive team.
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“I thought the power play was all right. We had some good looks in tight around the net that we didn’t make good on, but we have to find a way to get those in.”
The Leafs have a few days before Game 4 on Saturday night to make adjustments offensively. They miss William Nylander, no doubt, but each Leafs player has to find a better level of execution.
Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, who recorded his first point of the series, have to lead in that way.
The power-play is ugly, though. Through three games, the Leafs are 1-for-11 (9.1%).
“The puck is not going in, which is frustrating,” defenceman Morgan Rielly said. “But there are chances coming. We’re trying to focus on our structure and I think our entries have been good. We’re trying to get pucks to the net, trying to create rebounds and traffic. It’s matter of getting the puck across the line.”
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Newsflash: Considering the tight play at five-on-five, goals have to come when the Leafs have a man advantage, starting in Game 4.
On the other side of special teams, the Leafs are hurting as well. Boston is 5-for-10 on the power play in the series, including going 2-for-3 on Wednesday.
How to improve the kill?
“Get pressure on pucks, a lot of talk around the zone, just letting each other know where people are, where we want the puck to go, where guys are who are available to get clears,” Marner said. “Stay confident with it and know you’ll get it done.”
The Leafs’ penalty kill was 23rd in the regular season. It’s not going to get much better now.
A power-play goal by Jake DeBrusk at 1:07 of the third came after three Leafs converged on the side boards, giving the Bruins space.
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STARS DIMMED
Matthews, a dominant force in the Leafs’ win in Game 2, couldn’t get untracked and finished with just three shots on goal and seven attempts.
The line of Charlie Coyle between captain Brad Marchand and Morgan Geekie didn’t give Matthews, Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi much space, and defencemen Hampus Lindholm and Brandon Carlo also were effective.
Marner had one assist, which, for a player with his talent, should not be cause for celebration. That came in the second period when he threaded the needle to set up Matthew Knies for the first goal of the game.
Keefe gave Marner and Matthews some shifts together, but at some point soon, he’s going to have to think hard about reuniting them permanently. Whether it’s Bertuzzi or Domi who gets moved off the line doesn’t matter. The Matthews/Marner duo trumps all.
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After Keefe said in the morning that there was “a chance” that Nylander could make his series debut, that didn’t happen. Nylander, dealing with an undisclosed injury, took part in the morning skate but was not on the ice for the warmup and was scratched.
We’ll have a better idea of his status at practice on Friday.
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MARCHAND THE GAME-BREAKER
If your team is not prepared for whatever it is that Marchand throws at you, we’re not sure what to tell you.
Marchand scored the winner at 11:53 of the third, hitting the top corner over Ilya Samsonov’s left shoulder.
That came just 28 seconds after Bertuzzi deflected a Rielly shot to fool Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman and tie the game 2-2.
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Marchand assisted on the power-play goal by DeBrusk, and scored into an empty Leafs net in the final minute.
Marchand did not get a point on the Bruins’ first goal by Trent Frederic, though he had a hand in it.
As Frederic beat Ilya Samsonov on the short side four minutes after the Knies goal, Marchand and Bertuzzi were tangled up at the Leafs blue line, taking each other out of the play.
“He’s a great player, it’s what he does, he has been doing it for a long time,” Bertuzzi said. “I don’t expect it to stop.”
In Game 4, the Leafs have to worry more about taking away Marchand’s offence. Ignore the other stuff.
“He wants to get under our skin and influence the refs, so we have to be composed and not kind of get into that bull (crap),” Knies said. “Just play hard and make him least effective.”
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Now to carry that through.
REST UP
The Leafs’ players will have a day off on Thursday, though Keefe is slated to meet with media.
Most players would say they would want to get right back at it, but with Game 4 not until Saturday night, the Leafs could use the break before reconvening for practice on Friday. Not that it will be an advantage for Toronto, as the Bruins will get some rest as well.
“(It’s good) not just for guys who aren’t playing, but for some guys who are playing,” Keefe said. “Some guys have given us a lot through this series and can absolutely benefit from the day off.
“But it’s going to benefit Boston as well. That’s the beauty of the playoffs. The schedule is the same for everyone.
“Coming off a loss, it gives us a chance for sure to take a breath, regroup. It has been a lot of hockey for us since we left to go out on the road (early last week) to finish the regular season until now. It has been a lot of hockey for our guys and we’ve played hard.
“At times we’ve played well. (On Wednesday), it was not well enough to get the win.”
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2024-04-25 04:07:30Z
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