TORONTO – It was a day to hit the reset button.
With the white noise turned up to maximum volume, Randy Carlyle thought the best way for his Toronto Maple Leafs to prepare for Thursday’s game against the Phoenix Coyotes was to take Wednesday off.
While the coaching staff reported to Air Canada Centre for a long day of meetings, which included time spent with the management group, the players got to relax and refocus. When everyone reconvened on Thursday morning, Carlyle preached the importance of having his players stick together, something that is much easier said than done with the Leafs mired in a 3-8-2 slide.
It was no mystery that the team needed to respond with its best effort against the Coyotes.
"We’re a desperate team tonight, but not desperate to the point where you can come out and be nervous and be afraid to play and be afraid of getting booed," veteran winger Joffrey Lupul said. "We’ve got to be desperate, but a desperate team that knows how to act like they’ve been there before."
The biggest issue plaguing the Leafs of late has been their inconsistency. The main thing Carlyle and the coaching staff tried to identify during video work on Wednesday was areas where the group has actually been good.
It was all part of the head coach’s plan to clear some of the negativity that was clearly hovering over the team after Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to Florida.
"We formulated a plan that we presented to our players this morning," Carlyle explained. "We think there are some things that we can hang our hat on. If we can continue to get this group to commit to playing a more aggressive forecheck, a more aggressive defensive zone, the tide will turn in our favour.
"We will eventually find ways to have success, but it’s part of the process that has to take place."
Another item on Carlyle’s to-do list Thursday morning was to sit down with defenceman Jake Gardiner, who was benched for more than 21 straight minutes on Tuesday night. The coach cited two giveaways that turned into goals as the reason behind that move.
Against the Coyotes, Toronto was expected to start James Reimer in goal. The only confirmed lineup change involved Jerred Smithson replacing the injured Trevor Smith at centre. Mike Smith will get the call in net for Phoenix, which has dropped its last two games.
Times have been even tougher for a Toronto group that feels like its losing ways have gone on too long.
"We’re going to switch things around by playing more of a team game and doing it as a team," Lupul said. "We talked a little bit about that this morning – making sure we’re all on the same page and supporting each other."
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PROJECTED LEAFS LINEUP
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ONE-TIMERS
Injured Leafs centre Tyler Bozak participated in the morning skate and expects to return Dec. 29 vs. Carolina – the first game he is eligible to come off LTIR … Toronto’s last victory over Phoenix was Oct. 23, 2003 … Coyotes goalie Mike Smith is 3-0-1 in his career vs. Toronto … Watch out for the first goal: Phoenix is 13-4-1 when getting it this season while the Leafs are 13-5-2 … Mike Ribeiro leads the Coyotes in scoring with 26 points … The Leafs have four players on injured reserve: Bozak (oblique strain), Dave Bolland (ankle), Trevor Smith (hand) and Colton Orr (elbow) … Phoenix captain Shane Doan is out with an undisclosed illness … David Clarkson is one goal shy of 100 for his NHL career … After struggling with the shots clock for most of the season, Toronto has outshot opponents in three of its last five games … Coyotes centre Antoine Vermette (344) and defenceman Keith Yandle (336) are both on long consecutive games streaks … The teams meet again in Phoenix on Jan. 20.
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QUICK QUOTES
"Everyone has to kind of rally around each other and be accountable and take ownership of everything that’s happened over the past month. There’s lots of time to turn this ship around and it starts tonight." – Leafs centre Nazem Kadri.
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"This is my team, this is where I want to be. I’m happy it all worked out and it’s all over with, so I don’t have to worry about it anymore." – Morgan Rielly on staying with the Leafs rather than joining Canada for the world junior championship.
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"He has that (skilled) dimension in his game. He’s got some NHL experience, he can shoot the puck and he’s got a dynamic little quality to him – he’s a player that if we put him in tonight, hopefully he can bring that to our team." – Coyotes coach Dave Tippett on forward Gilbert Brule, who may see his first NHL action since May 15, 2012.
