Hold onto your butts. The countdown has begun ahead of the biggest Leafs playoff game since the franchise’s Conference Finals appearance back in 2002 (7:30 p.m. EST, Sportsnet/CBC/TNT)
Keys to Game 7
via Anthony Petrielli (@APetrielli)
– This is the biggest Leafs game since 2002, and it’s not even close. These games often come down to simple things: win the net fronts, win both blue lines (pucks in/out), get shots through traffic, and block shots against.
– The Leafs made some adjustments to Florida’s hard rims. Joseph Woll’s not even attempting to play them anymore. The Leafs‘ defense is pinning the forechecker and sealing the wall off, as the forward (usually the centerman) swoops in for the puck. The Leafs‘ defense was no longer taking as much punishment. We’ll see if the Panthers adjust.
– Don’t try to be a hero. Just play the game.
– The Leafs‘ penalty kill was really effective in Game 6, on the back of really good neutral zone and in-zone pressure that rarely allowed the Panthers’ power play to set up. The Toronto PK needs to stay aggressive and keep boxing out in front.
– It’s been the reverse scenario for the Leafs’ power play. They can’t set up cleanly, and they are getting boxed out. They’ll need quicker puck movement and more direct plays.
– In both Game 5s this playoffs, the Leafs looked a bit tense/off at home. They need to get pucks deep early, establish a forecheck, and get to their game. The crowd will back them.
– The Leafs got to Sergei Bobrovsky in Game 6. Keep crashing the net, and make him uncomfortable.
– The Panthers will be better than in Game 5. The Leafs need to find another level.
– Why not the Leafs?
Game Day Quotes
Craig Berube on what gives him confidence in the Leafs’ readiness for this moment:
What I saw in Game 6 in Florida and in Game 6 in Ottawa — those types of games, and how we played them with patience and discipline, while simplifying with the puck and playing to our identity.
Berube on home-ice advantage in Game 7:
I think there is excitement for our group playing at home in front of our crowd. It is a passionate crowd, a passionate fan base, and a passionate city. But don’t get caught up in it. Do what you did in Game 6.
We know what to expect from Florida. It is a great team over there. Simplify your game. Everybody is a little nervous. You just have to get the nerves out on the first couple of shifts and get going. Be direct, and rely on your teammates. That is what you are playing for: your teammates.
John Tavares on Matthew Knies being good to go for Game 7:
Kniesy has grown into a heck of a player. We’ve seen how quick his evolution has been over the first couple of years, and certainly this season with the steps he’s taken to become a premier power forward. He plays in all situations. He has made some key plays and had some big moments for us already. It is good to see him out there and ready to go.
Tavares on the experience of a Game 7 in the playoffs:
It is intense. My first one was really eye-opening with the intensity of play, the pace of play shift to shift, and the emotion and energy in the building. You have to channel all of those things in the right direction and do what you have to do to play well.
… It never gets old. It has the same excitement and feeling as it did when you were a kid wanting to play in the NHL. These moments are really fun and really special.
Brad Marchand on the atmosphere in the city of Toronto ahead of the game:
It is going to be fun. You can see how excited this whole city is to be in this position. We are right there. We are competing, but we are also fans of the game. These are the ones we all love.
You are going to feel the emotion. You feel it already coming into the city. You can feel the fans and hear the hooting and hollering around the hotel last night. It is fun.
The fans are going to be extremely loud. They feed off of that emotion. You can see that when the fans are going, they are going and feeding off it. It’s going to be fun.
Marchand on the Panthers’ approach to Game 7:
The biggest thing is that this team stays in the moment. We don’t look forward. We don’t look back. We are just preparing for the day. I love the way we go over games and the mentality we have after, whether it is a win or a loss, and how we try to get better.
Game 7s are the ones you live for. You get excited about it. You don’t really worry about the pressure. You worry about enjoying it and having fun. Whether you win or lose, they are incredible moments. You want to give yourself the best opportunity. You have to be in the moment all night.
Matthew Tkachuk on the Panthers’ anticipation for Game 7:
It is the stuff you dream about as a kid.
Our game is built for it. We talk about it all year. We talk about it in training camp. “What are you going to do to build your game for Game 7?” We get to show that off tonight. It is finally here.
Who cares how we got here? Down two, up one. It is the first to four for a reason. Couldn’t be more excited.
Tkachuk on the Panthers’ preparation for Game 7s:
Our game is built on wearing teams down over the course of a seven-game series or the course of a game. It might not show in the first five minutes, but hopefully, it shows in overtime or late in the third.
Our team is built for a Game 7. We have done six games of hard work and physicality that will pay off tonight.
Paul Maurice on the pain the players are playing through at this time in the playoffs:
In order to get to Game 7s, so many players have played through significant things. There is an investment in that, right? It starts to build that culture.
I think back to two years ago, and the guys who couldn’t play had broken bones. There were still five guys with broken bones in the lineup.
Radko Gudas suffered a high-ankle sprain early in Game 1 of the final, and it took him 10 minutes to get back to the bench. That is a six-week injury. The thought of him not being there, knowing what the other guys were playing through, was not something he could live with.
There is a bond that is created through pain, through adversity, through watching your brothers go through it. You won’t let each other down. It is all part of that great culture, as we saw last night. They just won’t leave each other.
Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines
Forwards
#23 Matthew Knies — #34 Auston Matthews — #16 Mitch Marner
#29 Pontus Holmberg — #91 John Tavares — #88 William Nylander
#18 Steven Lorentz — #24 Scott Laughton — #19 Calle Jarnkrok
#74 Bobby McMann — #11 Max Domi — #67 Max Pacioretty
Defensemen
#22 Jake McCabe — #8 Chris Tanev
#44 Morgan Rielly — #25 Brandon Carlo
#2 Simon Benoit — #95 Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Goaltenders
Starter: #60 Joseph Woll
#41 Anthony Stolarz
Extras: Nick Robertson, David Kampf, Ryan Reaves, Philippe Myers, Dakota Mermis, Jani Hakanpaa, Dennis Hildeby, Matt Murray
Florida Panthers Projected Lines
Forwards
#17 Evan Rodrigues — #16 Aleksander Barkov — #13 Sam Reinhart
#23 Carter Verhaeghe — #9 Sam Bennett — #19 Matthew Tkachuk
#27 Eetu Luostarinen — #15 Anton Lundell — #63 Brad Marchand
#10 AJ Greer — #92 Tomas Nosek — #17 Jonah Gadjovich
Defensemen
#42 Gustav Forsling — #5 Aaron Ekblad
#77 Niko Mikkola — #3 Seth Jones
#88 Nate Schmidt — #7 Dmitry Kulikov
Goaltenders
Starter: #72 Sergei Bobrovsky
#41 Vitek Vanecek
