Brophy on Leafs: Looking at next season

It looks like the Toronto Maple Leafs may have to settle for Plan B.

A week ago when Brian Burke changed coaches replacing longtime friend Ron Wilson with another old pal, Randy Carlyle, the Leafs GM said the move would:

A) Get his team to the playoffs

Or…

B) Allow the new coach to get a handle on his new players which will put him ahead of the game for next season.

With each passing game, this season becomes more of a write-off. But the Leafs gained a valuable point in their 1-0 shootout loss to the visiting Philadelphia Flyers Saturday night. With time running out, making the playoffs is still very much a long shot. Nevertheless, the Leafs seem to be slowly adapting to Carlyle’s defensive approach to the game.

After winning their Carlyle debut in Montreal last Saturday night, the Leafs have dropped three straight – all by a goal. If this was mid-December and the Leafs were six points back of a playoff spot, one might be inclined to suggest there is enough time left for the players to adapt and prosper. But the season ends in less than a month and with the Leafs six points back – not to mention heading out on a five-game road trip – you can’t like the odds.

For Carlyle, it is more about getting his message through to the players.

“We’re not just going to be a rush hockey club,” Carlyle stated. “We have to create offensive zone time, get a cycle game going every once in a while and move off the cycle. Just because we’re not a big team doesn’t mean we can’t do that. You can do it because you have skill and speed and you move off the puck so people can’t control you. That’s really what we’re trying to sell our group and I think tonight we didn’t turn the puck over a fraction of what we did in the previous games.

The Leafs actually seemed a little nervous in the first period and consequently had a lot of difficulty carrying and passing the puck in their end. Maybe it’s simply trying to incorporate a new system with the pressure of missing the playoffs for the seventh straight season hanging over their heads.

Young defenceman Jake Gardiner, in particular, struggled in his own zone, once passing the puck to nobody in the corner and then moments later making a drop pass behind the net to…nobody. With the Leafs on the power play, defenceman John-Michael Liles led the rush up the ice, but when he spotted nobody to pass to, he retreated into his own zone much to the displeasure of the home crowd. Liles then took off up the ice again and with nobody open, he fired a long shot that went into the net – the net above the glass, that is.

All of that said, the Leafs new-found attention in team defence had them tied 0-0 with the NHL’s most explosive team. That had to feel good. The Leafs new style results in fewer scoring chances for them as well as the opposition. It seems like a good tradeoff. Obviously it helps to get good goaltending, too, and Jonas Gustavsson had one of his best games of the year.

Carlyle didn’t say who would start Sunday afternoon in Washington against the Capitals, but if you are a betting man, expect The Monster to get the nod.

“We said we were going to go with the goalie that gives us the best chance to win and he pitched a shutout, so we can’t ignore the fact he was pretty outstanding for us,” Carlyle said.

The Maple Leafs got stronger as the game progressed and out-shot the Flyers 10-6 in the third period to take a 25-23 edge into overtime during which each team managed four shots on goal. Toronto’s best chance to gain the extra point came when its leading goal-scorer Phil Kessel broke in alone, but failed to connect going five-hole.

Philadelphia’s Claude Giroux decided the game with a stunning goal in the shootout, faking glove-side low and then dragging the pack back before firing it high into the other side of the net – a Datsyuk, if you will – in honour of Detroit veteran Pavel Datsyuk who popularized the move.

Win or lose, Carlyle knows he has plenty of work ahead of him. He likes the fact he is seeing progress after just four games.

“From a defensive standpoint, when you don’t give up a goal through regulation, you’ve got to feel good about yourself,” Carlyle said. “Our goaltender made some key stops. The frustrating part for us is we hit a couple of posts and missed a few empty nets and that was the difference in the hockey game.

“My message to the players was, as a coaching staff we asked the players to help create an identity for this hockey club, and the things that were on our list, they played to tonight. They lost a point, but they didn’t lose the hockey game. And the built some confidence. If they stay with the program that is the type of hockey we have to play on a consistent basis to have success.”