Taking winning in stride
Toronto Maple Leafs try to maintain an even keel despite flying start to season
TORONTO — If there was celebratory music, it was muted. If players were fist bumping or chest thumping, they did it behind the sliding doors that divide their private space from the public at the Air Canada Centre.
Nothing in the mannerisms of the Maple Leafs after Wednesday’s win hinted they own the top spot in the NHL with a 6-1 record, had just swept their first back-to-back games of the season and are leading in categories such as goals (34) and first-period tallies (14). The sound of lips and equipment bags being zipped prevailed.
Had this been a year earlier, the newbie Leafs would’ve made a much bigger deal of blasting the Red Wings 6-3 a day after blanking the Washington Capitals. But part of being a contender is knowing a fast start doesn’t mean replacing the dressing room sign “Play Fast, Play Right” with a banner that boasts “Mission Accomplished.”
Alternate captain Leo Komarov was sitting at his locker, as with every post-game, watching the nightly Auston Matthews megascrum at the front of the room, smaller groups break off and then trainers go about their business.
“It’s still early, we have a lot of things to work on,” Komarov said. “You play in Toronto, everyone gets excited, but we know as a team what’s going on here.
“It’s 82 games. Last year, we didn’t start off that good (two wins in the first nine), then we still made the playoffs. Now we start off good, but it doesn’t matter. We still have to get in the playoffs.”
The last Toronto team to win six of its first seven games 6-1 — the 2013-14 Randy Carlyle-led squad — was also coming off a post-season appearance. It not only failed to qualify for the playoffs, but saw its coach, general manager, captain and leading scorer all eventually swept out by a rebuilding plan aimed at keeping the franchise competitive for a long time, not just be a one-year wonder.
This blueprint still has some calculations to be done, even if the Leafs have provided some shock and awe in the opening 20 minutes, knocking three opposing goalies out of games so far, including Henrik Lundqvist and, on Wednesday, Jimmy Howard.
“That’s all statistics,” Komarov said. “You saw the game … we had five shots and four goals in the first, but didn’t start that well (12 giveaways to Detroit’s two). The puck is bouncing our way now, so we just take it and go forward.”
Morgan Rielly’s centring attempt glanced in off of Zach Hyman’s skate as part of that early barrage against the Wings. Nazem Kadri’s perfectly placed riser on Howard and Matthews’ quick release also found the back of the net. Connor Brown scored on the first shot backup Petr Mrazek faced. Yet Detroit scored three of its own before the game’s halfway point.
“We would rather protect the lead than play from behind,” Rielly said, “but we’re not happy with the way we played in the first period. They controlled the majority of play.”
Kadri was a little more lenient with his mates.
“It’s part of a maturation thing. We’re going to have to get used to playing with bigger leads. There are times when you have a couple of goals, you tend to stray away from the things that got you there. At the end of the day, you have to breathe and overcome that,” said the veteran centre.
“It was a little too loose (Wednesday), but we’ll clean it up and that will tighten the outcomes in the next couple of months. You just have to dig in. Sometimes (playing consecutive nights) you’re not going to feel the best. You can’t let that be a distraction. We just have to go out there and play the same way every night. It’s a bit of a challenge, but every team has to face it in the NHL.”
Toronto’s next back-to-back sets aren’t until November, but they ’re doozies: Anaheim and Los Angeles on a west coast swing, home and home with Boston, then the third stage of a three-game road trip that wraps in Carolina, returning to the ACC the next evening to face the Capitals.
If they’re still in first place at that stage, you might see a little more excitement, if not in the room then certainly in the streets.