Winning isn't the only goal for Maple Leafs in tight Atlantic Division race
'You just want to continue to build momentum going in these last eight games.'
Article content
Finishing first in the Atlantic Division?
Oh, Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews is thinking about that possibility, no doubt.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Winning isn't the only goal for Maple Leafs in tight Atlantic Division race Back to video
“It’s in the mindset, for sure,” Matthews said after the Leafs had a short practice on Tuesday at the Ford Performance Centre. “This last stretch of games, you want to make sure that our game is moving in the right direction.
“I thought the (three-game) trip (in California) ended on the right note in Anaheim (in a 3-2 win on Sunday) and you just want to continue to build momentum going in these last eight games. The standings are really tight and you want to go and get that, for sure.”
tap here to see other videos from our team.
When the Leafs departed their practice facility on Tuesday afternoon, the thinnest of margins was keeping the team from clinching a Stanley Cup playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Had the Montreal Canadiens lost to the Florida Panthers in any fashion on Tuesday night, or if the Columbus Blue Jackets had lost to the Nashville Predators in any fashion, the Leafs would have clinched a playoff spot. But the Canadiens rallied to beat the Panthers 3-2 in overtime and the Blue Jackets crushed the Predators 8-4.
The Leafs had to wait to officially get a crack in the post-season for the ninth year in a row. If they beat the Panthers on Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena, they will book their playoff ticket.
That nine-year run would set them apart, though we know they have to make it count in the end. In the National Hockey League, only the Boston Bruins also have clinched a playoff spot in the past eight years. That streak will come to an end for the broken and beaten Bruins in the next few days.
The Panthers were slated to pull into Toronto in the small hours of Wednesday after travelling from Montreal and will look to beat the Leafs for the third time in three meetings in 2024-25.
The expectation was that Anthony Stolarz will be in net for the Leafs, though coach Craig Berube would not confirm that after practice. For Florida, figure on seeing Sergei Bobrovsky against the Leafs after Vitek Vanecek got the call in Montreal.
Two points separate the Leafs, in first place in the Atlantic, and the Panthers. The Tampa Bay Lightning jumped past the Panthers on Tueday with a 4-1 win against the New York Islanders. So yes, it’s tight atop the Atlantic.
For Berube, there’s a simple path he would like to see his players take in the final eight games. If they follow it properly, the chance that the Leafs win their division for just the third time since winning the Stanley Cup in 1967 should solidify.
“For me, it’s really stressing (that) it’s about the team and nothing else,” Berube said. “If everybody grabs a hold of that, putting the team first, playing for the team, nothing else matters but just playing good, consistent hockey and working to get two points every night.
“Can’t have individual stuff this time of year, it’s all about the team.”
To be sure, Berube has found that the Leafs usually have gone about their business that way in his first year behind the bench.
“I think it has been good,” Berube said. “There’s always situations or things like that, but that’s the most important thing — we want to be playing consistent hockey in all areas of our game, trying to hone it in and everybody taking a little bit less and giving more and putting the team first.”
If the Leafs are going to put their overall game into proper gear, they’re going to several nice challenges along the way, including two games versus the Panthers, one against Tampa Bay and one against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Back on March 13, the Panthers scored two power-play goals in Toronto to beat the Leafs 3-2.
“Could have went either way,” Berube said. “We played them the right way. This team is going to check you. They’re a hard team to play against. Not a lot of room. You have to fight for your ice. You have to be solid in all areas of your game against this team.”
Leafs winger Steven Lorentz, having played a supporting role in the Panthers’ run to the Cup a year ago, realizes what his former team will bring and acknowledged that “this very well could be a playoff matchup at some point.”
Lorentz has been following the Leafs for his whole life. He also knows what winning the Atlantic Division could mean, home-ice advantage in the playoffs aside.
“This team has taken so many steps in the past handful of years and there’s been so many highs and lows, playoff losses and stuff like that,” Lorentz said. “It would be a good confidence booster for players and fans too, to have that attitude that a first-place team has.
“Playoff hockey is playoff hockey. It’s unpredictable. But there would be a little bit of swagger and confidence knowing that you were that top team in that division.
“We want to get into a spot where we’re comfortable in that a first-round match up, no matter who it is, where we’re hitting the ball and we’re hitting it in stride.”
X: @koshtorontosun
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.