The Leafs and Lightning combined for a 114-minute penalty in their last meeting on April 21 in Tampa. Sheldon Keefe thinks this is a taste of what to expect in the playoffs.
“It is a team that will be very natural and competitive,” said the Leafs coach. “When I look at their playoffs – especially in the first round last year – they definitely led the league to post-whistle fights. I expect it to be a very natural, borderline violent series in many ways. Our kids will be ready for that.”
John Cooper laughed when he was informed of Kif’s “marginally violent” comment.
“The first round is always chaos,” said the Lightning coach. “It’s an organized mess. The guys are inflated.”
Cooper points out that players are often as healthy as they would be during the run and usually increase their intensity by an extra five to 10 percent.
“We have been through all the wars,” Cooper continued. “Just turn the cassette back when we played Florida. It was two cars going 100 miles an hour next to each other and it was who would fly first.”
Keefe makes moves to ensure that his team will not be discouraged. Wayne Simmonds and Kyle Clifford skated in the fourth row in training and plan to be in Game 1 lineup. Both received additional discipline for action during this previous Tampa race. Clifford was fined for sticking to Corey Perry, while Simonts, who threw in the gloves that night with Pat Maroon, was fined for Mikhail Sergachev.
“We can only understand how the games were recently, how Tampa played when it was successful in the playoffs and how they played the last time we played them,” said Keefe. “They are extremely physical and competitive. We have to have our kids who will be physically and competitively the same. The referees will have to decide what they want to name the game, but we expect that, based on the story, it will be very physical. “A lot of things will be left. We have to find a way to play it and start on our own. I think we did very well all season. I know we will be ready to do it again.”
Lightning averaged the second minute penalty kicks per game this season (10:59) just behind the Nashville Predators. The Leafs were in the middle of the pack (8:33).
“You know what it’s like when the playoffs are coming,” Cooper said. “They are looking for the same calls, but the players are just more disciplined.”
The Leafs hold the top power play rankings this season (27.3 percent). Lightning had the best power play in the league in April (32.7 percent).
Keefe expects a series of “marginally violent” playoffs against Lightning
Sheldon Keefe expects a very physical and competitive series against Lightning, especially considering the style of play from Tampa, however, the Leafs coach says that his kids “will be ready for it”. Lightning coach Jon Cooper laughed at the idea and said his own team “has been through all the wars”.
—
Tampa finished fourth overall in success (2,124) this season while Toronto was 24th (1,746). The Lightning hope that physicality, within the rules, will help slow down Toronto’s strong top line, which includes 60-man Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.
“Try to be as physical as possible on them,” Lightning defender Victor Hedman said of the game plan. “We know they are very volatile and have great speed on this line and can get away from you quickly.”
Matthews posted a hat-trick in his last game against Tampa Bay on April 4.
“They have great, strong defenders,” Matthews said. “I’m sure getting to their nets will be important for us. We’re just fighting for it, we’re not disappointed and we’re just still playing and continuing to fight.”
—
Leading winger Michael Badding, who led the Leafs to a penalty shoot-out this season, trained with the team for the first time since suffering an unknown injury on 23 April. However, the rookie did a lot of exercises and left the ice in the middle of the period.
Keefe described Bunting as “doubtful” about Game 1.
Alex Kerfoot completes with Matthews and Marner.
“Bunts are obviously a little more fiery, but Footer sees the ice extremely well,” said Matthews. “The elf moves. His IQ really jumps. There is a slight adjustment to every man you play with, but we have played enough with each other that the chemistry is there and the communication is there.”
According to NaturalStatTrick.com, Bunting is Matthews’s teammate who shared the ice with most in a five-on-five (851 minutes) game. Kerfoot scored just under 70 minutes with Matthews in regular time.
—
Ondrej Kase trained with a regular sweater for the first time since suffering a concussion on March 19. It is “close” to the game, according to Keefe, and is considered a decision of game time.
“He’s had a lot of adversity, but he’s such a hard-working guy,” said goalkeeper Jack Campbell. “You could tell he was fired and he looked great out there.”
Kase skated on the second line with John Tavares and Ilya Mikheyev.
“Great honor to him and how hard he has worked,” Tavares said. “With the attackers we have, sometimes he gets lost in the mix and you forget how dangerous he can be and how effective he can be. [It’s] not only by creating an attack, but the consistency of his game and being able to play well in difficult areas, break out, win battles, put pressure on the opponent and do such things. It fits in very well with our style of play and our identity as a team. So, it’s great to see the way it has gone. ”
Leafs Ice Chips: Kase a decision for the game, doubtful for game 1
Ondrej Kase was fully involved in training with the Maple Leafs, his first full-time job since he suffered a concussion on March 19, but is reported as a Game Time game decision. Meanwhile, Michael Bunting also attended training, but left. early and is reportedly questionable for the start of Monday’s series. TSN Maple Leafs reporter Mark Masters reports.
—
To overcome the hump and win a round, the Leafs must defeat the team at the top of the NHL mountain.
“It’s not supposed to be easy,” Matthews said of the Thunderbolt plan. “He is the role model in this league in recent years and they know how to win. So, it’s a big challenge right away.”
Keefe sees this match-up as a disguise blessing.
“I look at our team and I think, ‘The harder it is, the better,’” Keefe said. “This is what we need.”
Why;
“If you are going to overcome the obstacle we have to overcome here, you can also start with the best,” the coach explained. “Every time we have been challenged as a hockey team – and I’m just focusing on this season – we have responded very well. We have a lot of respect for Tampa Bay. There is no doubt, disagreement or debate: it’s the league title at this point. “They have proved it. They have won it. There is no doubt that our team will be ready for them.”
“It’s not supposed to be easy”: Matthews immediately embraces the challenge from the bat against Lightning
Auston Matthews sees “a big challenge” facing Lightning right off the bat, but it is something he and his teammates are looking forward to. For Lightning, working with Matthews and Mitch Marner should involve being physically fit, but they do not overlook the overall depth of the Leafs.
—
William Nylander scored two goals, including one in a split, in the regular season final against the Boston Bruins.
“I wanted to score because I missed some escapes lately,” the winger told TSN in an interim interview. “It was nice to get one.”
Nylander led the Leafs by eight points in a row against Montreal last year.
“We have to go up from last year,” said Nylander, who celebrated his 26th birthday on Sunday. “Everyone wants to be better and they will be better. We will be ready to leave.”
Wow Willie! 😎 pic.twitter.com/jTKhiXq3JX – Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 29, 2022 — Sheets lines in Sunday’s practice: Kerfoot – Matthews – Marner Mikheyev – Tavares – Kase Nylander – Kampf – Engavll Clifford – Blackwell – Simmonds / Spezza Bunting Rielly – Lyubushkin Muzzin – Brodie Giordano – Liljegren Sandin – Holl Campbell Calgren PP1: Rielly, Matthews, Marner, Tavares, Nylander PP2: Giordano, Liljegren, Mikheyev, Engvall, Kase, Lightning Lines in Sunday Training: Palace – Stamkos – Kucherov Hagel – Point – Cirelli Killorn – Colton – Paul Maroon – Bellemare – Perry Hedman – Rutta McDonagh – Cernak Sergachev – Foote Vasilevsky Eliot PP1: Hedman, Killorn, Kucherov, Point, Stamkos PP2: Colton, Maroon, Palat, Perry, Sergachev
