Rest is history for Spezza
The schedule is heating up and crowds can’t return soon enough
Jason Spezza had a conversation with coach Sheldon Keefe recently. The veteran Maple Leafs forward said he simply wasn’t feeling right about his game.
Part of the reason was a league suspension for kneeing in December, followed by a positive test for COVID-19 and a number of postponed games.
“We like when there’s rhythm to the schedule,” said Spezza. “You like when there’s three or four games a week. It has been challenging ... there’s been stops and starts. For myself, that goes back maybe even a little bit further with being suspended (four games for the hit on Winnipeg’s Neal Pionk).
“So yeah, I think I can play better hockey. My line can play better hockey. I think it’s good we’re still getting results.”
Spezza hasn’t scored since Dec. 4 in Minnesota, and hasn’t had an assist since Jan. 1 against Ottawa. In fact, the entire fourth line hasn’t contributed much offensively of late. Wayne Simmonds hasn’t scored since Dec. 14 in Edmonton. Nick Ritchie and Kyle Clifford have rotated in and out to little effect on offence. Pierre Engvall, who scored his first goal since Dec. 11 on Saturday, is on that unit now.
“I think we’re working through it,” said Spezza. “There’s going to be ebbs and flows to this season, and it’s important that you know when you have to work on some things. And that’s what we’re going through now as a team, as a line.”
The Leafs are a respectable 5-2-1 since Christmas, but they’ve only played eight games in that span while division rivals Tampa, Florida and Boston have played 13. Yes, they’ve built up games in hand, but with maybe too much rest.
“Not playing a lot of games has been a challenge,” said Keefe.
Added defenceman Morgan Rielly: “It’s (better when) you’re playing three or four times a week pretty consistently, and you’re able to keep yourself in shape, keep yourself in a rhythm, and then hopefully just roll through and keep yourself healthy.”
The Leafs will host the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night, and the schedule is finally starting to look a bit more normal again. They will play three times in four nights starting Saturday. After the all-star break from Feb. 3 to 6, three games in four nights — sometimes five in eight — will start to become common.
“The schedule is going to heat up,” said Keefe. “The guys will be in there in the regular rhythm that they’re accustomed to. It’s just a matter of finding their way right now.”
While the rhythm the Leafs have missed will be returning, it won’t be accompanied by the beat of a local crowd just yet.
Wednesday’s home date will be their first since Jan. 5 against Edmonton, when no fans were allowed into Scotiabank Arena. The same will be true against the Ducks.
“We’ll have to find ways to motivate each other and keep ourselves engaged,” said Rielly. “I mean, we’re used to it. It’ll be a lot harder on other teams that have to come to Canada and play in these buildings that aren’t used to it.
“We did it all last year, so we should have experience with it. But who knows what’s going to happen moving forward? I’m not going to make any predictions.”
As things stand, some restrictions will be lifted by the time the Leafs host the New Jersey Devils on Jan. 31. Up to 500 fans will be allowed in, though at best they would be friends and family of the players. That is expected to be the case until Feb. 21 when, barring changes related to the pandemic, Scotiabank Arena crowds can return to halfcapacity.
“We’re coming off a road trip where we had two great crowds,” Rielly said of the final two stops against the New York Rangers and New York Islanders.
“It does impact the game in certain ways.”
Like the rest of us, the Leafs will be glad when they’ve seen the last of empty buildings. And maybe it’s contributed to Spezza not feeling right about his game.
|“It is definitely difficult to play in an empty building,” said Spezza. “I think it’s been probably more difficult this year just because we’ve had fans (earlier in the season) and we know how good it is to have everybody in the building.
“Our crowd has been great. We’ve been really good at home. So you get that extra juice, especially when you’re at the midpoint of the season like we are, from the fans.”