TORONTO — Before Phil Kessel shed some demons against the Boston Bruins and before James van Riemsdyk scored one of the prettiest goals you’ll ever see, there was one player essentially driving the Toronto Maple Leafs offence in Game 2.
Joffrey Lupul.
That, of course, is nothing particularly new for a power forward that has looked like a NHL star virtually every time on the ice this season.
He found an even higher gear in the Leafs’ biggest game yet.
The 22 minutes 22 seconds of ice time? Lupul hadn’t played that much since Nov. 5, 2011. The eight shots he had on Tuukka Rask? Lupul last registered a total that high on Dec. 15, 2007.
That he also scored two important second-period goals — turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead — only added to the growing legend of this team’s emotional leader. Both of those came on plays that saw Lupul fight hard for positioning in front of the net and get rewarded for his effort.
“It’s no secret that it’s tougher to score in the playoffs,” he told reporters at Air Canada Centre on Sunday afternoon. “You’ve got to get to the front of the net and go to the net a little bit harder.”
It was exactly the kind of game-breaking performance the situation called for.
During a disheartening 4-1 loss to the Bruins in the series opener, the Leafs didn’t seem to have anyone willing to grab the game by the horns and make a difference.
The denizens of Leaf Nation have come to expect Lupul to make that kind of impact. During a lockout-shortened season in which he suffered a broken arm, a concussion and served a two-game suspension, he has also scored 13 goals in 18 games.
The sample size may be small, but the production has been consistent.
Lupul’s name has even come up in some conversations among Team Canada’s management group and it wouldn’t be a total surprise to see the 29-year-old included in an Olympic orientation camp this summer — assuming an agreement for the Sochi Games is reached and one is held.
When you start getting mentioned at that level you’re obviously doing something right.
The former seventh-overall pick has elevated his play since joining the Leafs in a February 2011 trade with Anaheim and admitted recently that he’s surpassed his own expectations.
“I’ve never played at this level before and to be honest I’m kind of just figuring it out now as I go,” Lupul said last month. “I didn’t necessarily know I was capable of playing at this level and now I’m figuring (out) that I can do a lot of things out there that other guys can’t. …
“I definitely feel like I’m improving every day and I do have that desire to get better and better now and see how good I can eventually be.”
The playoffs are as good a time as any to find out.
As the Leafs began looking ahead to Monday’s Game 3 with Boston, Lupul was sounding a note of caution. A veteran of 41 NHL post-season games, he knows that a solid team performance one night won’t automatically carry over to the next one.
He also expects to see more from the Bruins.
“They’ll play well for sure,” said Lupul. “They’re a veteran team and they’ve been there before. They’ve had playoff games they’ve dominated and playoff games they’ve lost and they’ll bounce back and play well.
“We know that.”
Naturally, there was a hint of excitement in the air as well.
Car horns could be heard around the city after Saturday’s 4-2 victory and with the series now shifting to Toronto there was plenty of anticipation about the first playoff game to be played here in more than nine years.
It should be a memorable experience.
“I know that when our players go out on the ice tomorrow night, they’ll have chills and shivers running up their spine,” said Leafs coach Randy Carlyle. “I know that.”
Lupul could already sense that excitement as the team gathered for a meeting on Sunday.
He and a few teammates even took time to watch the YouTube clip of Toronto fans reacting to Kessel’s third-period goal in Game 2 — something that offered a pretty good glimpse into what is to come as the games get even more important.
“They had the video up today on the computer of the Maple Leaf Square yesterday with all of the fans celebrating and cheering,” said Lupul. “That’s pretty exciting for us players too.”
