Kapanen solidifies role with Leafs
Tight-checking, intense hockey.
Gaps that close almost immediately, if they were there in the first place.
That’s what the Toronto Maple Leafs figure on experiencing, for the most part, in the final couple of months of the 2017-18 regular season.
“After you have played a few years, you learn that when you come back from these breaks we have had, the bye week and the all-star break, it’s a different game,” defenceman Morgan Rielly said. “Teams are much more competitive in the checking aspect and you don’t want to give up much either. You want to get ready to play playoff hockey.”
Thanks largely to the goaltending of Frederik Andersen, the Leafs scraped out a 3-2 shootout victory over the Nashville Predators Wednesday. With 26 games to play, the Leafs have settled into third place in the Atlantic Division with 69 points. Despite their recent success, the Leafs have not been able to gain ground on the Bruins, who have 74 points and four games in hand.
After a day off, the Leafs will return to practice on Friday to prepare for a visit by the Ottawa Senators, a once-proud group that has nothing left to play for other than a solid shot at winning the draft lottery, on Saturday.
While the Leafs are unlikely to face an overwhelming opponent in the Senators, Rielly’s premise rings true: Just about every inch gained in the next eight weeks will come only through hard work.
It’s why a player such as Kasperi Kapanen, who seemingly has left his days in the American Hockey League behind, has the potential to have an impact. We saw it on Wednesday when Kapanen avoided a sprawling P.K. Subban and then eluded Craig Smith to score a short-handed goal. Kapanen’s quickness, strength and smarts led to the goal, which gave the Leafs a 2-0 lead.
It’s seven games Kapanen has played since being recalled from the Toronto Marlies, and whether he has been on the ice at even-strength or while the Leafs are down a man, he has been a factor.
None of this comes as a surprise to Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe.
“There has been a lot of maturing that has gone on with Kappy, in everything,” Keefe said.
“How he prepares to play every day, the effort that he gives, figuring out what he is or what he needs to do to be able to play every day for the Leafs. With (the Marlies), it was focusing on his time on the penalty kill, focusing on being good away from the puck, focusing on being competitive, all those little things.
“You add the fact he is a dynamic player and he has elite speed. He has created a real defensive foundation.”
Keefe believes Kapanen will be able to sustain his play with the Leafs.
“When things get tight and are at the most competitive, when you have legs, you can really skate, it creates opportunity for you and it creates challenges for the opposition,” Keefe said.
Said Kapanen: “Speed is something I work on mostly in the summers and coming in this year, I felt faster than ever.”