TORONTO — Status quo will no longer cut it.
In the wake of their ugliest stretch of home efforts in three years, some well-documented booing of a core player, and the toughest offensive lull of what, looking big picture, has been a bountiful campaign, the Toronto Maple Leafs are shaking things up.
Wednesday’s atypically vocal and especially spirited 35-minute practice began with a bang and a crash, and ended in a bag skate disguised as a series of full-speed, 2-on-2 rushes.
During warm-ups, John Tavares whizzed a high shot by Frederik Andersen that smashed a pane of Plexiglas behind the goaltender’s ear and necessitated a change of ice pads.
Mike Babcock ratcheted up the volume and intensity, skating a bunch of guys who have dropped five of seven so hard that it became a point of conversation.
The coach also tweaked his top three forward lines, pulling his most trusted left winger, Zach Hyman, away from his most productive duo, Tavares and Mitchell Marner, in effort to jump-start Auston Matthews and William Nylander out of their goal slumps.
Although Babcock reserved the right to change his mind ahead of Thursday’s showdown versus the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning as he re-watched recent Bolts games on the charter, the projected lines now look like this:
Hyman-Matthews-Nylander
Marleau-Kadri-Kapanen
Lindholm-Gauthier-Brown
“Obviously, we’re going through a bit of a lull right now. It’s our job to dig ourselves out and claw back into playing the way we were this season,” Matthews said. “That’s up to us. Nobody else.”
The third-year centre simply expects to score, nightly, and yet he’s found the net just once in his past 10 outings. A reunion of Nylander and Hyman as his wingmen would represent a throwback to the trio Matthews grew most comfortable with over his first two NHL seasons. It’s a composition of forwards that worked well on the cycle.
"We have a lot of experience the past two years playing together, and we’re obviously trying to spark something here offensively," Matthews said.
"Zach’s obviously a heavy player—gets in on pucks, wins pucks back, gets to the net. Me and Willy are kinda interchanging, making plays and trying to create stuff offensively down low, and that’s something we want to get back to."
It’s notable that Nylander’s lone goal 16 games into his long-delayed, snake-bitten 2018-19 was the result of a smooth give-and-go orchestrated by Matthews.
Worker bee Hyman has invested the blue-collar effort that has aided in career-year bids for both Marner and Tavares, and has given that group clear No. 1 status; due to Matthews’ shoulder injury and Nylander’s contractual impasse, the second unit has always remained a work-in-progress. (Kadri’s third line even more so, due to the trickle effect.)
"Matty’s a goal-scorer," Babcock said. "It’s getting pucks in good spots around the net so you can do that, I think, is important. I think his game has really come on here of late. I think he’s really starting to find some rhythm in his game. Whether people want to believe it or not, when you’re out for a long time, it takes time."
Hyman said he hoped the Leafs will be able to look back on Monday’s 6-3 loss to Colorado, a bubble team mired in a 1-9 drought, as the lowest point of the season. And he’s encouraged with a idea of reforming the HNM Line.
"I’m really familiar with those two guys, so it’ll be exciting for sure," Hyman said. "Everyone had a role on that line, everyone knows what their role was and did it effectively. We all complement each other."
To a man, Toronto chalks up its recent skid to a lack of effort, and until recently, the Leafs’ cushion on the Atlantic Division pack has allowed them to ease up on the pedal and take their time with goaltender Andersen’s rehabilitation from a lingering groin injury.
[relatedlinks]
"We’re not doing the little things right: breaking down defensively, turning pucks over… losing coverage in the D zone or making a lazy pass, or just getting outworked," explains Jake Gardiner, the fans’ whipping boy during this rocky period. "All of us in this room are so competitive, and we expect so much out of each other. I think the fans are the same way.
"You hit a boiling point. We do that the same way in the room. If we’re not playing well, we start getting frustrated. I think that’s what happened."
What’s happening now is Toronto’s standings cushion has turned airplane-pillow thin. The Leafs are only up by one point on Boston and Montreal (granted, they do have games in hand).
They’re better than this.
Perhaps it was difficult to manufacture desperation full of Christmas ham and the confidence knowing you can crank the dial when necessary.
The tenor shifted with a bang Wednesday. A tweak to the top line, a jolt of intensity, and a wake-up call ahead of a meaningful divisional test.
"We want to be proud guys when we leave the rink, and if you don’t put it all in, you can’t be proud when you leave," Babcock said.
"Shake it off and let’s get playing."