Leafs hope to duplicate 1993 revival

BOSTON •Hammeredinthe first two playoff road games, his stars stymied, fans in a flap and the media sharpening its knives, the coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs called a meeting, called out some players and they bounced back to make the conference final.

What worked for Pat Burns 25 years ago this week might not apply to Mike Babcock’s Buds. But with dire numbers confronting the 2018 Leafs — 20 points by Boston’s big line and only an 11.3 per cent chance of recovery based on other teams in 0-2 holes, it’s worth noting the 1993 club recovered its regular season mojo just in time, the last Leaf team to rally in that circumstance.

“If we believe we’re beat, then we are beat,” Burns growled in 1993 after his group shlepped home from Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, soundly beaten 6-3 and 6-2. “One thing we’ve got to do is stop listening to everything.”

Much of that was repeated Sunday at MasterCard Centre in Toronto. The night before at TD Garden, defenceman Nikita Zaitsev expressed similar thoughts after a 7-3 loss brought the Leafs to a 12-4 goal differential. “This is serious. You’re not allowed to show the other team you’re done.”

Like the ’93 Leafs who won the next two games on home ice, beat Detroit in seven and got within a win of the Stanley Cup final, Toronto needs to maximize its home-ice advantage. It won a franchise-record 29 at home, including two onegoal decisions over Boston.

“That’s going to mean a lot,” Auston Matthews said.

These Leafs don’t have Doug Gilmour or the veteran presence Burns leaned on. But they’d better develop chemistry or they’ll be cleaning out their lockers Friday.