Brophy on NHL: Leafs turn up intensity
Posted March 2, 2012 4:24 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BROSSARD — If it is true that what you do in practice spills over into games, then get ready for a barnburner on Saturday night.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, riding a nasty six-game losing streak with only one win in their last 11 starts (1-9-1), were throwing their weight around in practice in preparation for Saturday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens. A loss will drive another nail into the coffin of a team desperate to make the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons and the players know it.
After a better game in Chicago Wednesday night, albeit another losing effort in which the Leafs blew a 3-1 first period lead, coach Ron Wilson challenged his players to be more aggressive at both ends of the ice. While they didn’t respond early in practice, things picked up to the point where the intensity looked like it might spill over into fights.
David Steckel, the team’s fourth-line centre, hammered second-line left winger Nikolai Kulemin hard behind the net. A few minutes later, defenceman Carl Gunnarsson threw right winger Joey Crabb into the side boards. Crabb turned around quickly and it looked for a second like they might drop the gloves, as the two did a few weeks ago.
“Crabby wants to throw them sometimes, but he stayed calm today,” Gunnarsson said. “That’s going to happen sometimes. It was a tough practice and Ron wasn’t happy when we started the D coverage drill so we picked it up and stated hitting people more. That’s how we want to play in games.”
Asked about the hard-hitting and intensity of the practice, Wilson said he was paying more attention to players being in proper position than anything else. He did, however, have a theory on why things got a bit ramped up.
“It was 2-on-2, then 3-on-3 to eventually 5-on-5,” Wilson said. “There is an element of competing there and being physical and fighting off checks and we have to be better at both ends of the rink for 60 minutes.
“Our defence has to do a better job of pinning their checks. Our forwards do a great job in practice and we ask a simple question: ‘Why don’t we skate like that in games?’ They say, ‘The other team’s defence is more aggressive and they pin us.’ The defence is getting kind of slapped a bit by the forwards when they say it’s easier to play against them than the other team’s defence. We have to be a little more aggressive and we have to staple people better. It was good that they had a little bit of competition against each other.”
Added Gunnarsson: “We had a couple of mistakes down low in our end last game where we couldn’t seal guys and they got free in the slot area. That is what we worked on (Friday) — stapling people to the boards and being more aggressive down low.”
One thing is certain, if the Maple Leafs do not play with the same enthusiasm and urgency against the Canadiens Saturday, their season could be over long before they reach the 82-game mark. Steckel said the players are very aware of their desperate situation.
“I don’t know if it was the toughest practice, but it was one of them,” Steckel said. “You have to try to find different ways to get out of the funk. There’s nothing better than having a great, up-tempo battling practice just like it is in a game. It was good. We haven’t done some of those drills in a while and they’re all about competing. We talk about it all the time; looking at yourself in the mirror during a losing streak and asking yourself if you are bringing it. A lot of guys did a lot of good things (Friday).
“It’s one of the things where, no matter what happens, you have to have the confidence and the composure and be excited to play. Any time you go through something like this, it’s not fun. And when that happens you start looking at it like it’s a job. If you don’t enjoy your job then things aren’t going to go well for you. We need to come to the rink and have fun while realizing the importance and desperation we need to play games with.”
While Wednesday’s loss was disappointing, there were some good signs. For starters, goaltender Jonas Gustavsson gave his side a chance to win. James Reimer has not found his game since returning from an early-season concussion and even though he was afforded plenty of opportunity to turn things around, it just didn’t happen.
“Gustavsson is going to play again,” Wilson said. “We tried to get a rhythm out of Reimer and it didn’t work so we’ll see if Gustavsson can get a couple of starts and come up with a solid effort.”
If there is one player the coaching staff never has to worry about, it is fourth-line right winger Mike Brown. Averaging a little over nine minutes per game, Brown plays every shift like it could be his last in the NHL. He was rewarded with a late goal against the Blackhawks, his second of the season.
“I have always played like that my whole life,” Brown said. “I was taught to have no regrets and give everything you have every shift. Every time I go on the ice I’m going to try to change the game; try to get the energy up and do whatever my job is, whether that is to go out and get a big hit or get the puck to the net or play solid defensively. If I have to fight, I’ll fight. Every shift I go out I think about doing my job. Whether it’s 15 minutes a night or five minutes, you still have to do your job. Even if you get just one shift, you’d better make it a good shift.”
The Leafs will need 18 skaters and one goalie all doing their jobs Saturday if they hope to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
