The message is the same throughout the regular season: head down, one foot in front of the other without looking too far ahead. Also, learn from a painful past without staring too much in the rearview mirror.
For the Toronto Maple Leafs, thriving under the intense and relentless spotlight of hockey’s largest market, and with what can be a heavy weight on their shoulders, this is the only way forward because of their recent chess.
Throughout the season marked by individual career highs and team bests, Maple Leafs players tried to stay in control of their emotions, even during the rocky start of the campaign.
We just try to get into the rink and give ourselves the best chance (for success) every day. Whatever the situation, we want to deal with it directlymentioned John Tavares, the captain of the Maple Leafs.
There are always topics of conversation in the airadded star scorer Auston Matthews. There are only a few aspects we can control.
The Maple Leafs will try to continue on the same route, without removing their blinders, facing their biggest tenure so far this season: the Tampa Bay Lightning, two -time defending Stanley Cup champions, in the first round of the playoffs .
A huge challengehead coach Sheldon Keefe acknowledged, that the team will host Game 1 on Monday night.
But when I look at our group, I think the harder it is, the better. This is what we need.
Keefe said he expected in a very physical series, bordering on violence in many ways.
The Maple Leafs completed the schedule with 115 points, 10 more than their previous team record. Their 54 wins allowed them to erase their old 49 mark.
Matthews became the first Toronto team since 1993-94 to reach 50 goals. He added five to set a club record before reaching an impressive 60 in 73 games.
Meanwhile, Mitch Marner had 97 points, William Nylander had a career-high 34 goals, and goaltender Jack Campbell was named All-Star for the first time in his career.
However, all of these statistics, all of these compliments, including those associated with the team’s special teams, are less meaningful if the Maple Leafs, again, fail in their attempt to advance to the first round. of the playoffs. And this, even as their opponents amassed 110 points and finished eighth overall in the NHL standings.
That’s the reality of a team that hasn’t won a playoff round since 2004, or been promoted to the Stanley Cup since 1967, last year the NHL only had six clubs.
We knew we were in a special market, in front of a special group of supporters who would give us a lot of fuel and push us on our road. That’s why being here is so special.l, Tavares noted.
The Maple Leafs ’latest playoff disaster began last spring, when the team squandered a 3-1 lead in their first-round series against the neglected Montreal Canadiens before losing seven games. .
Defenseman Morgan Rielly admitted that the players, in the summer and early in training camp, talked a lot about what happened to them, but they didn’t vent the nightmare.
It’s a matter of balance […] You want to talk about it and you want to learn from it, but you also want to keep goingRielly recalls.
I doubt there is a single player in our dressing room who will positively remember this unless we correct the ship and achieve the ultimate goal.
Source: Radio-Canada
