Ahead of Thursday’s game against Minnesota, head coach Jim Hiller discussed Chris Tanev sitting out, Brendan Brisson’s call-up, Anthony Stolarz’s start in goal, and what the team hopes to accomplish with their recent systems adjustments.
Why was the decision made to keep Chris Tanev out of this one?
Hiller: I’m not going to get into that. I think there’s been a lot of talk about that. He’ll play Saturday.
When you tell Tanev he’s not playing, how does he react?
Hiller: I think he spoke to it the other day. I think he knows we have his best interests at heart. He’s a good teammate. He’s a good player, and when he’s called upon, he plays hard. So he understands all that.
Tanev said he didn’t know exactly how it would work. When did you know he wouldn’t be playing today?
Hiller: Again, I’m not going to get into all that. He spoke. We’ve talked about it. He’s going to play the next game. We’ll just leave it at that for now.
How have you felt about Tanev’s game since he came back?
Hiller: Good. Good player. Really important player.
How collaborative is the decision-making on Tanev, with the data and sports science involved?
Hiller: Yeah, there’s everything. I think we have great resources and a crack staff up and down. Everybody’s involved, it’s debated, a good decision’s made, and then everybody moves forward.
How’s Zack MacEwen feeling?
Hiller: I haven’t spoken with him yet. I would say he’s a game-time decision, but we’ve had a game-time decision who didn’t play. Somebody mentioned that before. Usually, game-time decision means he always plays. We’ve had that with Roslovic, so we’ll see.
What went into calling up Brendan Brisson?
Hiller: He’s had a great start to the season with the Marlies. He’s done very well.
Why did the schedule work out for Anthony Stolarz to get this game?
Hiller: It just did. As we work through our schedule, he just landed on this one.
What do you like about Stolarz’s game this year?
Hiller: I think he’s been pretty calm in the net. One, he stops the puck. He’s doing a good job of that. Two, he’s really calm in the net. He’s a big guy. I don’t think he’s sliding around that much. He’s pretty compact, so I think that’s really helped him. Not a lot of rebounds. Just very tight.
You’ve talked about having a plan for your goalies throughout the season. Have you thought about altering that plan lately?
Hiller: No, we talk about that all the time. Like anything, you always have a plan, and then you adjust the plan. And you don’t know if we have or have not done that thus far either, right? It’s a constant conversation.
Players have mentioned some systems tweaks lately. What goes into that, and how often do you tweak the system throughout a season?
Hiller: Here and there. There’ve been some things that we started with, and we felt like, “You know what? I think we can adjust that just a little bit.” We had to play through some of that because we didn’t have practice time.
I think you saw in Vancouver we had a pretty unique practice. We’ve had a couple of others where we’ve had a chance to actually put something in rather than just show it on video. Sometimes that’s dangerous. You’ve got to rep it out.
You mentioned protecting the house better defensively and being more connected moving up the ice. Is there a specific area of the game you’re hoping the changes will affect?
Hiller: Those areas specifically, yeah. Hopefully, it just leads us up the ice and allows us to play in the O-zone more and the D-zone less.
Against Edmonton, the team looked connected moving the puck out of its zone and into the offensive zone. We’ve seen less of that since. Can you put your finger on why?
Hiller: There was a time… Not so much against Jersey, but against Montreal and Colorado both, I think we were pretty connected offensively. I don’t think it’s been since that (Edmonton) game that we’ve been disconnected.
We certainly dipped offensively for a time there, but I would say in those two games, we haven’t felt like, “Oh, we’ve been so disconnected we can’t get through the neutral zone and play in the O-zone.” I thought we did that pretty well in both of those games.
Have you quickly developed a degree of trust in Cole McWard to put him back into the lineup?
Hiller: I thought he played really well his first game. We didn’t get him back in because Tanny came back in, but I thought he played really well. The first one, or the first couple, are usually pretty easy, and then it gets harder as the grind goes. But he’s got a really good demeanor, and I’m looking forward to seeing him tonight again.
What do you see as the challenge against the Wild tonight?
Hiller: I think the obvious: They’ve got a few players that are stars in the league that you really have to be mindful of, and everybody knows them. They’re hard guys to shut down, and then they have really good goaltending. That’s a pretty good combination. That’s why they’re one of the top teams.
Toronto vs. Minnesota - November 12
Maple Leafs Projected Lines
With an optional morning skate, these lines are merely a projection and final combinations won't be known until line rushes in warmups before puck drop.
Select a player name to view their card (must be on active NHL roster).
