BOSTON — Inside the walls at TD Garden, they know that last year matters about as much as a discarded ticket stub. In fact, when Boston Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy was asked what concerned him most about the Toronto Maple Leafs, he said: “They’re a year older.”
That means another year wiser and a little more playoff hardened.
Perhaps that’s why Auston Matthews, now 21 and entering his third-career playoff series, is talking about feeling more physically and mentally “free” leading in to another best-of-seven with the Bruins. He’s seen some things. He’s figured out some things.
“I think we all feel very ready for this challenge,” Matthews said Thursday before Game 1 at TD Garden.
Last spring was not one to remember. There was the disappointment of a Game 7 loss in this building, of course, but there was also an element of personal struggle seldom seen from Matthews during his sparkling NHL career.
The big moment, the breakthrough, never arrived. He logged a ton of good minutes in that series – a fact somewhat lost in his one goal, one assist performance – but was largely sawed-off while seeing the Zdeno Chara-Charlie McAvoy pairing in almost 70 per cent of his even-strength minutes.
Cassidy is going to have a choice to make in the rematch, making it likely that Matthews gets a little less of the six-foot-nine behemoth and his smooth-skating partner this time around. The bigger concern for the Bruins will probably be the Zach Hyman-John Tavares-Mitch Marner trio, which might draw both Patrice Bergeron’s destroyer line and Chara-McAvoy.
At least to start.
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On the visiting bench, Mike Babcock is expecting to line match a little less fervently than he did in the past. He believes great teams are built through the middle and doesn’t have nearly as many players to shelter with Tavares, Matthews and Nazem Kadri as his top three centres.
That could lead to better flow, especially if the Leafs manage to get ahead. It would allow Babcock to roll out his groups one after the other, rather than constantly having players jump off and on in search of a specific look.
“On the road sometimes you can get in your own way,” said Babcock. “The guy whose leading is always in charge. So if you’re chasing the game, it’s harder. The other guy gets to do whatever he wants. If you’re ahead in the game, you get to do what you want, because he’s got to get certain people on the ice.”
The biggest difference in Matthews 12 months on may well be his health. He only got nine regular-season games under his belt after returning from a separated shoulder before last year’s playoffs and didn’t have the kind of explosiveness he’d normally like in his skating stride.
Now, not only is he’s coming off a dominant stretch of possession since the start of March (58 per cent, with an expected-goals percentage of 57.5), but he better understands the value of patience in the post-season.
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Matthews grew frustrated during last year’s series when the points didn’t come right away even though the process-driven indicators suggested they eventually would. He led the team with 27 shots on goal while controlling 50.45 per cent of attempts and 54.3 per cent of scoring chances during that series.
“When you’re a really good player you’re going to draw a ton of checking and you may go a long period of time with not getting what you like, which is goals and assists,” said Babcock. “And you’ve just got to stay patient and keep winning faceoffs and staying on the ‘D’ side and not getting involved in that. All it’s about is your team winning.
“When you play on a really good team you might not even score in the first round, but you’re going to score, though, as time goes on. But if you put a bunch of pressure on yourself then you’re getting in your own way.”
That’s something Matthews won’t do in his playoff second series against the Bruins. The deployment is bound to be a little different, as his demeanour.
“It’s just staying on top of it, not getting too frustrated with yourself and competing every shift,” he said.
