Jim Hiller on how William Nylander can have the puck more at 5-on-5: “Maybe spend less time in the neutral zone waiting for the puck, and more time in our own zone trying to be the breakout outlet who can carry it”
After Wednesday’s practice, head coach Jim Hiller discussed John Tavares’ return to practice and potential move to the wing, the need to generate more offensive-zone time, William Nylander’s puck-touch volume, and the team’s discipline.
How did John Tavares look to your eye in his first practice back?
Hiller: Really good. I’m sure he was excited to get out there and compete with the guys, but he had a really good practice.
What’s the next step for Tavares to return to game action?
Hiller: Tomorrow is an off day for us. We’re going to have a good practice on Friday, so he’ll have a practice Friday and pass that test, hopefully. Then I’d like to see him get that next step.
What’s the thought process behind putting Tavares on the wing?
Hiller: I think in the last game he played, we had him on the wing, right? We’ve got Pauly there in the middle with Willy. It’ll be some combination with Willy. We’re not exactly sure yet. We think it might be easier for him to keep generating more offense with Willy and have Pauly do a little bit more of the work down low.
William Nylander said it feels like a weird season for him. The production has been there, but he feels he doesn’t have the puck as much as usual and isn’t sure why. What can he do to get the puck more?
Hiller: I would agree with him. That’s been a constant conversation with Willy and me. Certainly, the point production is there, but I’m used to seeing him back in the day where he would carry the puck through the neutral zone, take people wide, turn up, and find a secondary option. He just hasn’t had a lot of those looks.
We’ve talked a lot about him maybe coming back for the puck a little bit more; maybe spending less time in the neutral zone waiting for the puck and more time in our own zone trying to be the guy who is the breakout outlet and is carrying it.
Where do you want to see areas for improvement after all the practice time this week?
Hiller: I think I said it after the game last night: We’re spending too much time in our own zone. When you spend a lot of time, you’re going to break down. Then the next question is, how do you spend less time in your zone? In the third period, we didn’t spend too much time in our zone because we spent time in their zone. They’re all connected. I think our best defense is to play in the offensive zone more, forecheck better, stay on pucks, and hang on to pucks. That will be our focus.
Is that one of the things you like most about the Duhaime-Blueger-MacEwen line, the way they force the action down to the other end?
Hiller: Outside of Matthews’ line, they spend more time than anybody in the offensive zone, right? We’ve all seen that. They forecheck hard. They stay on pucks. It’s not a lot of fancy plays, but the puck usually ends up around the net front, and they’re there to try to bang it in. They’ve been an excellent line for us for that reason.
Is Sergei Bobrovsky taking the day off just about a veteran knowing what his body needs to recuperate?
Hiller: Absolutely. And he doesn’t take a day off. He might take a day off the ice, but trust me, he’s not taking a day off. He’s going through his full routine. But we don’t need him, after playing a game, to come back and stop pucks for 35 minutes. He can regenerate.
How much are you thinking about the standings and reminding the team how valuable these points are in the Atlantic Division?
Hiller: I think they do, and we’re going to be talking about this in December, and January, and so on, so we know how it goes. It’s a long season. Sounds cliché: Win the day. We didn’t win the day yesterday. We have a chance to practice. We can win the day today. Good practice, get some energy back, and then you just take the next one.
As much as the standings are important, we really don’t focus on that in the short term. It just takes you away from what we want to do today.
Darren Raddysh took the penalty last night, but generally, it feels like the team has been shorthanded too much. How do you coach discipline? How do you approach that?
Hiller: There are different types of penalties, right? Sometimes you can get lazy with your stick. That’s a bad thing. Sometimes you break down, try to save the play, and you take a penalty with your stick. That’s not undisciplined. It’s more in desperation. It’s the ones that are undisciplined, that are lazy with your stick. That was a poor choice last night, and we discussed that one already. That’s just a poor choice that can’t happen.
Again, he’s new to the team. It’s a one-off. We’re going to move past it, but I don’t think it’ll be a theme for him.
Practice Lines - November 4
Maple Leafs Lines
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After Wednesday's practice, head coach Jim Hiller discussed John Tavares’ return to practice and potential move to the wing, the need to generate more...
