Ahead of Tuesday’s game against Colorado, head coach Jim Hiller discussed Jack Roslovic’s availability, why call-up Ryan Tverberg is getting a look alongside John Tavares and William Nylander, and the plan to manage Chris Tanev’s workload.
Do you think Jack Roslovic is good to go tonight?
Hiller: It looks like it. I haven’t talked to him since we got off the ice, but he got through it, and I didn’t see any issues. We competed a little bit at the end, and he was in there, so that looks good.
What have you learned or heard about Ryan Tverberg?
Hiller: I watched him a little bit in the American League last year in the playoffs, which is where he had his best run. Played very well. John Gruden knows him really well, having coached him for three years.
He’s a worker. He’s an energy player. He’s got lots of speed. We think he’ll help on the forecheck and other areas of the game. We’re excited to put him in tonight. Obviously, you can see where we put him in the lineup, so we’re going to give him a good run.
Why put Tverberg in that spot specifically?
Hiller: I think he can be first on the forecheck. I think he can loosen some pucks up and try to really let John and Willy get in there and find some secondary pucks. That’s just it. He’s an F1 forechecker. Lots of speed, and a big engine.
Chris Tanev said he doesn’t agree with the load management. How do you feel about that when a player wants to play, feels he can help the team, and isn’t allowed to?
Hiller: Listen, we’ve got an unbelievable staff. Part of what we’ve done here in the offseason was just build this incredible staff in all areas of our organization, and they’re all working together to try to make the best decisions for the player and for the team. So we’re comfortable with where it’s at.
I am not surprised that Chris Tanev wants to play hockey every single night. He just is a warrior. That’s been well documented. We understand his frustration, and we’d like to have him every night, but there’s a plan in place to protect him and the team.
How often do you expect that kind of situation to come up?
Hiller: I don’t know exactly. Like anything, there’s a plan, and then you go through and you see how people react and how the body reacts, all those kinds of things.
How did the team adapt without Morgan Rielly the other night? Is there anything in particular you’re looking to build on tonight?
Hiller: I thought the best part of our game was our breakouts. I thought the D broke the puck out pretty well. I give Mermis and McWard a lot of credit there. They had a good night doing that. Obviously, we didn’t generate enough from it going the other way, but you take Rielly and Tanev both out, and those are some pretty big minutes. The other two, I think, did a pretty good job.
It’s been a tough homestand against some of the top teams in the league. What do you feel you’ve learned about yourselves as a team?
Hiller: That’s a hard one in a short sample like that. I don’t think we’ve learned anything new, per se. It’s kind of been the theme from the start of the year. We just really have to be at a high level, one through 20, to give us a chance to win. We have to be there.
We’re not a team, I think, that can do it with just a handful of guys. We need everybody, especially against the top competition in the league, to push and to be on their game. That’s a tough ask sometimes. You don’t usually get that, but that’s what we need. We’re going to need it again tonight.
How did you feel John Tavares handled playing back-to-back games after the layoff?
Hiller: Pretty good. He played the wing the first night, then we put him at center on a back-to-back. That’s a tough job, but I thought he got through it.
They probably didn’t generate enough. If we’re thinking the first night with Paul and the second night with Gavin, I just didn’t see enough offense generation from that line. We’re going to need that. That’s the change tonight. We’ll see if [Tverberg] can bring a little bit more to those guys.
Toronto vs. Colorado - November 10
Maple Leafs Projected Lines
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