Reaves is ready to rally
Forward draws on personal experience forcing comeback from deep hole
With or without Auston Matthews, veteran forward Ryan Reaves believes the Maple Leafs can beat the Boston Bruins.
Not just once, which is the task they face Tuesday in Game 5’s elimination contest. Not just twice. But three times. In a row. This week.
“Not a single guy is ready to pack his bags and go home,” Reaves said. “Summer is not around the corner for us. Everyone believes we can come back. I certainly do. We’ve won three in a row this season before, so it’s not something we can’t do.”
The Leafs face the prospect of doing it without Matthews, whose illness kept him off the ice again Monday. He will travel with the team, lining up as a proverbial game-time decision.
“It’s not ideal to be without Auston Matthews,” Leafs captain John Tavares said.
“He’s one of the best players in the world. But there’s tremendous depth, talent and character in on this team. It’s a great opportunity for all of us to step up, raise our game.”
Reaves is one of those character players on the team. He is in his 13th straight post-season — the longest active streak — and Tuesday’s game will be his 113th, tops among the current Leafs.
He has been on teams that have rallied from two games down, most recently in 2022 when he was with the New York Rangers. They trailed 2-0 and 3-2 against Carolina, and rallied to take the Metropolitan Division series in seven games.
The Bruins were up 3-1 on Florida last year, and lost in seven.
“You’ve got to adjust, and you’ve got to play desperate,” Reaves said. “You definitely can’t go into the game nervous. If you go into the game nervous, you already lost.”
He doesn’t sense nerves among his teammates, even if their starts have seemed tentative.
“Our starts haven’t been great,” he said. “I think when they draw a little momentum, whether it’s a goal or a power play early in the game, it seems like we tighten up a little bit, but there’s no room for that.”
Reaves takes that in-game bench argument among Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander in Game 4 as a positive.
“It shows a little emotion, a little passion, shows that you care,” Reaves said. “It’s one thing if it’s trickling into the locker room, if it’s carrying over shift after shift. But that’s not the case. You talk about it. You move on.
“It happens and it’s not because a couple of those guys don’t like each other or that there’s cracks in the room. It’s just trying to get better. Sometimes it’s frustrating when things aren’t going your way. So when you talk, sometimes frustration comes out. But you’re going back on the ice and battling for each other.”
The Leafs’ power play has been abysmal, with one goal in 14 chances against Boston, while the Bruins have managed six goals in 13 chances.
“They’re winning the special teams battle right now,” Reaves said.
“All it takes is one of those games where you get a little puck luck and special teams start clicking, five-on-five gets a bounce, and then the puck goes in and a series can shift like that.”
Notes: Coach Sheldon Keefe did not announce a starting goalie … Bruins captain Brad Marchand missed practice in Boston … The Leafs signed six-foot-two power forward Nikita Grebyonkin to an entry-level contract with an average annual value of $875,000. Taken in the fifth round in 2022, Grebyonkin, recorded 41 points (19 goals, 22 assists) in 67 games and helped Metallurg of the KHL capture the 2024 Gagarin Cup.